


Exceptions

by Trexi



Series: Ignoring the Hero Handbook [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eddie Thawne Lives, M/M, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-07-08 03:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 39,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15921546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trexi/pseuds/Trexi
Summary: Barry doesn’t mean to visit Snart in prison the second time; it just kind of happened (Multi-POV).





	1. Just a Message

**LEN**

When they told me that I had a visitor this morning, I honestly wasn’t expecting this. Then again, Lisa and Mick know better than to see me directly. Reporters tend to avoid the kill-their-own-father types too. If you think about it, the only person who makes sense is Barry Allen, CSI, Scarlet Speedster, and the human equivalent of a confused puppy right now.

He’s sitting on the other side of the glass, phone already up and eyes darting around like the walls are ready to attack him. I sigh and sit across from him, taking my time to pick up the phone.

“What are you doing here, Barry?”

“I uh… I just wanted you to know that Glider’s left Central. We think she’s hunting down Heatwave. She’s okay though, upset obviously, but okay.”

“And you came all this way to tell me that?”

“Yes. No. Sort of. Not really. I mean she asked me to tell you.”

“You didn’t have to deliver the message directly.”

“I know.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Well, then.”

“Well what?”

“Well, why are you here?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know.”

Barry shrugs. “Sorry?”

“You really don’t have any clue why you’re here? You don’t want anything or-.”

“No. Of course not. I was just running around and sort of found myself coming here.”

“You just found yourself coming to a prison?”

He groans. “I know it’s weird. Maybe it’s because my dad used to be in here and I’d come to him when I… But you’re not him, obviously. I mean he was innocent and you’re … well, not.”

“And why don’t you go see Doc Allen?”

“You know him?”

“I’ve been here before, Barry. Of course, I know him.”

“Right. He uh, sort of, well, left Central. He said he needed to get away from it all, needed a chance to himself after being stuck in here for so long. And I, I get that. I just wish he hadn’t left the second he had the chance. All that time trying to get him out for years and now he’s gone again.”

That explains the perpetual sad eyes.

“Why don’t you just go visit him? I doubt it’d take you long.”

Barry shrugs. “Guess I just don’t want to bother him. I mean, if he wanted to hear my problems he would’ve stuck around.” His eyes widen suddenly. “I’m sorry. Your father was a terrible excuse of a human being and here I am yammering on about my problems. I didn’t mean to. I just-.”

“Have nobody else to talk to about this?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, my friends are all great, but I’m pretty sure the only person who doesn’t expect me to be perfect and handle all my responsibilities seamlessly is you. And you hate my guts.” Barry drops his head in his arms. “What’s that say about me?”

“I don’t.”

Barry tilts his head up slightly.

I sigh. “I don’t hate you, Barry. Neither do Mick or Lisa for that matter. None of us ever did.”

“Thanks, Snart.”

“Len.”

“What?”

“This is the second time you’ve visited me in prison, kid. You can call me Len.”

Barry grins. “Okay, Len then.”

“If you start with that good guy spiel,” I warn.

He sits up. “I won’t. Not right now, at least.”

“Good.”

We sit in silence for a moment, Barry aimlessly looking around the room.

“So … how are you?” he asks.

“In prison.”

“Right.”

“You really don’t know why you came here?”

Barry shrugs. “Nope, but I’m glad I did.”

“Guess you just wanted someone to listen who can’t get away.”

Barry shakes his head. “No, I think if you weren’t in here, I still would’ve found myself tracking you down, even if it was just for a fight.” He leans forward, as if there isn’t glass separating us. “You’ve always been my favourite villain,” he whispers.

I smirk. “Got yourself a figurine then?”

“I can’t believe those are even a thing. Like, who gets the money off all the superhero and villain merchandise? It’s bad enough we get sent all sorts of fanmail and gifts at work for the Flash. Sometimes we even get stuff for you and the villains. I’ll have to show you sometime.”

“I’m not exactly in a position to make plans, Barry.”

He smiles. “Yeah, because the great Leonard Snart is totally going to be in prison for more than a couple of months.”

“Trying to get information out of me?”

“Maybe.” Barry leans back. “Not really, though. I mean, if you had asked I’m sure the Flash would’ve been willing to testify that you were under duress. It would’ve helped shorten your sentence.”

Interesting. He’d actually be willing to tarnish the Flash’s reputation for that.

“I’m not one to care about sentence length.”

Barry shakes his head, his smile a little too fond. “Just don’t make a spectacle when you get out. Zoom is becoming… Well, he’s time consuming.”

“I doubt the Flash will worry about yet another new villain over his favourite.”

Barry groans. “I can’t believe I said that.”

“Never going to forget it, Scarlet.”

The prison guard signals Barry. He sighs. “See you around, Len.”

“Sooner than you think, Barry.”

He shuffles out the room, throwing one glance over his shoulder and shaking his head, that all-too-fond smile back again. Kid still can’t tell the difference between friend and foe. That Zoom could take advantage of it. It wouldn’t do well for another villain becoming Flash’s greatest adversary. Hopefully Lisa will get back to Central with Mick soon. I’m getting bored of this place.

I walk out with the other prisoners, some nameless low-level grunt barging into me.

“That’s the second time, Snart,” he mutters. “Think we don’t know he’s a badge? Since when have you been a snitch?”

I knew this would happen, not that Barry would ever think it through when showing up here.

“He’s Doc Allen’s kid. Can’t expect the Doc to check up on one of his favourite patients in person. Doc’s probably glad to never see this place again.”

“Uh huh. See what the Families think of that excuse.”

“They’d probably just wonder what you’re doing talking to a PI every week.” I shove him out of the way. “We all have our secrets. Best we keep it that way.”

Because if anyone here figured out that the Flash was visiting me on the regular, I’d be dead before the end of the day.


	2. Just a Reminder

**BARRY**

Even before my speed, I was never patient. Now though, every single queue is like a miniature torture session specifically designed for someone with my powers. After Zoom broke my back, that impatience has skyrocketed. Caitlin banned me from using my powers. I already went against that twice and she _knew_. I’m not sure how. It must be some secret doctor power. In any case, I’ve been on edge from doing everything the slow way lately. So being called out to Iron Heights by one Leonard Snart because he wants to chat, isn’t exactly my idea of a good time. Especially because I had to take a bus to get here so that nobody realises we’re on good terms.

Snart, no, Len, is already sitting there, phone in hand when I arrive. The guard steps out as I take my seat. No other prisoners are here today.

“Why’d you want a private conversation, Len?” I ask, my impatience painfully obvious.

“You were limping,” he says.

“What?”

“When you walked in, you were limping.”

“So?”

“So you’re not one to badly injure yourself.”

“I get injured all the time. It’s part of the job.”

He raises an eyebrow. “And then you heal.”

Oh, right. This is the first injury lasting this long post-lightning.

“It _was_ pretty bad this time,” I admit.

“No kidding. Half the prison was celebrating over the news footage, the other half terrified that something like that could happened.”

I smile. “That’s why you got me to come here. You were checking on me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Scarlet. I was annoyed.”

“Annoyed? You called in a bunch of favours, and yes I do know how hard it is to get a call out in here and to get a private conversation, just because you were annoyed?”

“Obviously. I thought it was important to remind you of our little deal.”

“How’s our deal come into play here?”

“He broke your back, Barry. That nemesis stealing plague of a speedster one-upped me. I can’t very well expect your head to be in the game the next time we face off if you’re busy healing.”

I frown. “I’ve just got a limp, Len. It’s not like I’m in a wheelchair anymore.”

“You were in a wheelchair?”

He sounds properly angry at that.

“You really were worried about me.”

“Apparently he broke your mind as well. No sane person would even infer such a thing.”

“Don’t you start too. It’s bad enough everyone’s been treating me with kiddie gloves since it happened. It’s like they just expect me to shatter after he shattered my spine. The most I’ve still got is some sore muscles and a bruised ego.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care.”

Len leans forward. “You do. Accelerated healing or not, nobody recovers from being publicly defeated in such a manner within a week. You know that, even if you’re saying that you’re ready to go out again. And you care what others think, always have. It’s just who you are, Scarlet. If I were you, I’d take a break. No training, no planning, and no patrolling. Then again, if I were you, I wouldn’t have let myself be taken off-guard by an enemy I’ve known about for a while. All that extra time to plan things out and you still run headfirst into every situation. It’s a miracle something like this hasn’t happened before.”

“I can’t just abandon my duty, Len.”

“Sure, you can. I’m sure Central will last a week without seeing their favourite speedster running around.”

“They’re exactly why I can’t stop now of all times. They’ve lost their faith in me. If I don’t get it back soon, then I might never be able to.”

Len smiles. “Told you that you care what others think.”

“Yet you’re the one who keeps claiming to be some scary villain even when you’re obviously checking up on me.”

“I need to know whether Central’s worth returning to when I get out. If that Zoom is running things, my job gets boring.”

“Sure, sure, Len. Just admit that you care about me and that we’re friends.”

He shakes his head. “You’ve actually lost your mind.”

“You’re not saying we’re not.”

“I shouldn’t have to. Any rational person wouldn’t want to be friends with a murderous thief.”

I grin. “But you keep pointing out that I’m everything but rational. Just admit it, Len. We’re totally friends.”

“Saying I don’t hate you doesn’t mean we’re friends.”

“Your words are saying one thing, but your actions are shouting something else.”

“I just wanted to remind you who your real nemesis is, Scarlet. Can’t have you forgetting while I’m in here.”

I pat the glass between us. “It’s okay, Len. I can read between the lines.” I laugh at his unimpressed expression. “Thank you, for checking on me. Who’d have thought that Captain Cold would turn my day around?”

“Nobody, the same amount that consider us friends.”

I frown. “The others might not, but they don’t have a say in the matter.”

“Going through some teenage rebellion, kid?”

“I’m not a kid. I’m twenty-six.”

“I give it five years before they stop checking your ID at bars.”

“There’s no point in me drinking anyway. It’s not like it can affect me.”

Len raises an eyebrow. “If alcohol can’t affect you, does that mean painkillers…?”

“Oh. Yeah, no. I felt all of it. My pain tolerance was already high ‘cause of all the broken bones, but this one… It hurt, a lot.”

“Zoom would know that?”

“Probably.”

“Damn, Scarlet. How long’s it usually take with-.” Len’s eyes widen. “Uh, never mind. Forget I asked.”

“How long does it usually take to heal with the cold gun?” I guess.

Len pales. He really doesn’t want me to know that he cares.

“Couple of hours. Thing about the cold is it’s usually numbing though. By the time the pain hits, it’s over pretty quickly. I’ve been in more pain breaking bones by being clumsy than your gun.”

“I wasn’t concerned.”

“Sure. Not like you expected to be friends with me when we first fought.”

“I didn’t expect you to be so persistently chirpy with an enemy.”

I grin. “You just admitted it,” I sing-song.

Len groans. “I swear you’ll be the death of my reputation one day, kid.”

Wait a moment.

“You haven’t been targeted for me visiting you, right? I mean my job is probably common knowledge in here.”

“Worried, Scarlet?”

“Yes.”

His smirk drops. “I’m fine. Someone tried last time, but I handled it. Good thing you’re Doc Allen’s kid and I’m the best thief in Central. People in here know not to cross me.”

“Okay, as long as I’m not putting you in danger.”

“And what would you do about it, Scarlet? Break me out?”

I shrug. “Only reason I didn’t break my dad out was because he wouldn’t have gone along with it. Even before the lightning, I knew how to get a charged murderer out of Iron Heights.”

“Careful what you say around here.”

“Intent is one thing. Execution is another. I can’t be charged for planning a crime if I never follow through. In your case, I could just say you threatened my family or something. I mean, I’m not actually going to break you out unless you’re in danger. You’re only in here because of me, after all.”

Len shakes his head. “I did kill my father, Barry. I don’t regret it either.”

“I know, but you could’ve run. I could’ve let you.”

“Who said I wanted to?”

“You want to be in here?”

Len shrugs. “Beats having Zoom try to recruit me. I didn’t plan to be here, obviously.”

“But the plan went off the rails, so you threw it away.”

He smiles. “Nice to know you listen, on occasion.”

“Well, for a criminal, you do say a lot of smart things.”

“And for someone who’s been betrayed so much, you’re sure willing to call this criminal a friend.”

I smile. “See, you keep bringing it back up. It just makes me think we’re really friends.”

“Well, friends tell their friends when they’re not dead after suffering a life-threatening injury on TV. Just saying.”

“I knew it! You’re not so bad once you get past the icy exterior.”

“Remind me to shoot you when I get out of here.”

“We’re going to be too busy hanging out, having fun.”

Len smirks. “That’s the same thing.”

The guard walks in, looking half-surprised that we’re both smiling. Len’s smile fades at the sight though. He says his usual “see you soon,” and lets himself be escorted away.

I’m not sure who would be angrier if they overheard that conversation. Joe or Oliver. It’s not like they were the first ones to get me to laugh after what Zoom did. Len would probably claim insanity if I told him. Maybe after this, I won’t have another nightmare tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a friendly reminder that Barry had to recover from a broken back without painkillers. As awesome as having superspeed would be, that's a definite drawback.


	3. Just a Debt

**LEN**

No updates from Lisa or Mick. Dammit. The other inmates were suspicious before. Now they’re downright hostile. I’ve been in five fights in the past week. My fault, I know. I just had to check on Barry, didn’t I? Now everyone seems to know that I got a private conversation with a badge. Most are trying to figure out what I was saying. If I could prove to them that I wasn’t snitching, this would end. Too bad the conversation would reveal that Barry’s the Flash. A guard gave me the only copy of the conversation. I destroyed it.

It’s like the news footage of my father’s iced corpse means nothing to these idiots. Do they really think I’d work with the cops? The only badge I don’t hate is Barry. I wouldn’t have this problem if it wasn’t for him. Then again, if anyone else was the Flash, I would’ve been thrown into this place a hell of a lot earlier. Barry’s why I’m not in isolation. He pulled favours as both Flash and CSI to make sure I stayed in General. That’s the only reason I forgive him for coming to visit again today. It’s certainly not because we’re friends, or something ridiculous like that.

I just owe him.

“You look terrible,” he says the second I sit down.

I take in Barry’s own fading black eye. “Right back at you.”

“Yeah, but I have a good excuse.”

“And you think I don’t?”

Barry sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “They’re targeting you, aren’t they?”

“Why are you here, Barry?”

“You answer first.”

“You already know the answer.”

Barry droops. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“But if I had just-.”

“Barry.” I hold his gaze. “Not your fault.”

He studies the array of bruises on my face. “They do realise the CCPD would never work with you, right?”

“Doesn’t help that this is the fourth visit from one of their CSIs.”

“But I’m not here for my job. I’m here to visit my friend.”

“Who’s a murderer.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Can’t you get in trouble for that kind of affiliation?”

Barry shrugs. “I was known as the kid who kept visiting his ‘murderer’ dad all the time, even if he was later proven innocent. Plus, it’s not like I’m processing any crime scenes that are linked to you. If you get out, I’ll just talk to Singh and make sure someone else takes those. I only have to sign like one form declaring you my friend and I’m all good.”

“Of course you would want an official document declaring that.”

“It’s not like I’m making us friendship bracelets.”

“And you wonder why I call you kid.”

Barry frowns. “Well, it’s not like I can get a tattoo anymore.” He turns a familiar scarlet. “Not that you would want to get matching tattoos or anything! I was just saying that that’s an option that sounds more adult-like but isn’t really available to me. Not that I wouldn’t want to get one with you or anything. I just didn’t want to assume that it would be something you’d be up for. Like, why would you even want something like that? It’s kind of ridiculous. I don’t even know if you’ve got any tattoos ‘cause you’re always wearing long sleeved stuff. Obviously, other clothes are just as effective at hiding tattoos. Not that I’m thinking about where or anything, because that would be awkward. And I’m just rambling and you’re laughing at me.”

I cover my mouth but can’t stop laughing at how utterly mortified Barry looks, while trying to be serious with his arms crossed, but he’s pouting like a kid again and I can’t stop laughing at the absurdity of the superhero in front of me. A glare from a guard sobers me. Everyone in this dump will know about this slip in my demeanour before the day’s out. Ah well, guess I’ll just tell them the truth. Doc Allen’s kid might actually be my friend. No use denying it now, with him making me laugh like that.

“Sorry, Barry. How about you get yourself a snowflake charm for your phone case or something?”

“You know what, I think I will. And I’ll get you a matching beaker for yours.”

It’s obvious he wants to say lightning bolt, but for once the kid seems to understand the meaning of _secret_ identity.

“Maybe I’ll attach it to my cold gun.”

“That uh, has been returned to the manufacturer.”

So it’s at Star Labs. Good to know.

“How’d you get your bruise, Barry?”

“Gorilla.”

“Come again.”

“Telepathic gorilla of the very angry variety.”

“I really am missing all the fun.”

Barry gets that annoyingly familiar smile. “You mean to say, that you would’ve wanted to help out?”

“No, I’m saying that I don’t have access to YouTube in here and can’t watch the compilations of the Flash getting his ass handed to him by a gorilla.”

“There aren’t any-.”

“Barry, I literally manage my own channel with clips of the Flash falling over, crashing into things at superspeed, and getting beaten up by my Rogues.”

“Why hasn’t anybody told me about this?”

“Because they all know how big of a Flash fan you are.”

Barry goes to retort something, before paling slightly. “Am not.”

Thank you for picking up on that hint, Barry.

“You really are. It’s kind of pathetic.”

“Well, he is the reason my dad’s out of prison. Plus, he saved Iris that one time.”

Good. Now they’ll think he’s only here as a Cold sympathiser and Flash fan, rather than CSI.

“Ah, the saving sister card. Suppose that’s another thing you think we have in common.”

“I do have a list.”

Interesting. I’m sure there was a time when Barry would deny a familial relation with Iris.

“Of course you do. It’s probably framed right next to that poster of me in your bedroom.”

“Are you kidding me? Joe would kill me if I had a poster of you.”

“He says like that’s the only reason he doesn’t have one.”

Barry sputters. “You know what I mean! I’m sure you’ve got photos of the Flash pinned on your walls like some fanboy.”

“Of course I have pictures. How else am I meant to analyse his suit and fighting style for weaknesses?”

“You’ve already admitted to collecting videos.”

“For research purposes. I’m sure the Flash has his own of me.” I smirk. “Then again, that would involve some degree of forethought on his part. It’s not his strongest point.”

“Well, you try thinking ahead constantly when you’re running off a couple hours sleep.” Barry freezes. “I mean, uh, I’m sure the Flash is always up late stopping metas and-.”

“Barry.”

“Judging by his daytime appearances, he probably has a job, which means he’d have to get up early to-.”

“Barry!” I wait until he finally meets my eyes and drop my voice to a whisper. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

His eyes widen, and he starts shaking his head. “I uh, should head back. Joe’s probably wondering where I am.”

“They don’t know that you’re not sleeping either. You haven’t told anyone.”

By the deer-in-headlights expression, I’m correct.

Barry sighs. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

“And who exactly could I tell?”

“I… Right. Sorry. I’ll try and visit next week. But for now, I should probably just leave.”

“Take care of yourself, Scarlet.”

The smallest smile breaks through Barry’s panicked expression. “Yeah, you too, Len.”

That’s decided then. The first opportunity I have to get out of here, I’m taking. Can’t have my favourite speedster passing out in the middle of my next heist, now can I?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't decided yet how long it'll take Team Flash to realise Barry/Len have matching snowflake/lighting charms (because that will definitely be happening at some point).


	4. Just a Warning

**BARRY**

Len broke out of jail. Joe has a son, Iris a brother. One of my friends isn’t thinking straight because her father’s killer broke Len and the Trickster out of Iron Heights. Eddie still doesn’t know about Wally. And Iris, she doesn’t want to go through telling yet another person.

“I’m just saying, Iris, he deserves to know. You two are going to be married soon. I think Eddie should know he’s going to have a brother-in-law.”

Iris opens the front door. “Another brother-in-law, you mean.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s just, I don’t want to pressure Wally into all of this. He’s just found out about his family. I don’t want to rush him.”

“You don’t have to introduce them. Just tell Eddie and-.”

“Ho, ho, ho.”

I stop my instinct to grin at the voice and send a glare Len’s way instead. He smirks over his mug. No, that’s definitely my reindeer mug. Len stretches out on the armchair and puts my mug down.

“Mmm. Cocoa isn’t cocoa without the mini marshmallows.” His smirk grows as the door shuts behind us. “And you’re out. I checked.”

I speed across the room and slam Len against the fireplace. If I make sure I don’t actually hurt him, well nobody else here is fast enough to see it.

“Are you out of your mind?” I yell, mostly for Iris’s sake. “Breaking into my home?”

Len leans forward a little. “Didn’t tell your friends about your little visits?” he whispers.

“Sick of having all my decisions questioned after the lightning.”

“Don’t worry, Scarlet,” he says louder. “I’m not here to hurt anyone … today.”

I lean back, removing my arm. Len smiles and straightens his parka.

“We’re not scared of you, Snart,” Iris says.

Len strolls past her and picks up his cocoa. “Of course, you aren’t. Only rational people would be frightened by a world-class thief in their childhood home.”

“Barry’s stopped you before.”

“No need to get defensive, Miss West. I’m not here for a fight.”

“Then why are you here?”

“To talk.”

“Start talking.”

Len shakes his head. “Not to you. To Barry. If I’d known you were coming here, I would’ve waited upstairs.”

Iris turns to me. “Did you know he was coming?”

“No.” I would’ve sped him away if I did. “If you need to talk in private, Snart, we can go somewhere else.”

“I wouldn’t be here if it was safe to talk somewhere else.”

“Alright, my room then. Upstairs.”

Len nods, picks up his cocoa and heads to the stairs.

Iris pulls me aside. “You’re just going to let him wonder through the house?”

“If he was just here to steal something, he would’ve taken it and left before we got here. I doubt Snart would risk coming to a detective’s house right after he’s broken out of prison. He’s too smart for that. Whatever he’s here for must be important.”

“And what, you expect me not to tell Dad? After just keeping a major secret from him?”

I sigh. “Joe wouldn’t get it. He doesn’t know Snart like I do.”

Iris steps back. “You actually trust that man, don’t you? Have you learned nothing from the last time you did that?”

“Last time I trusted him, he chose to not shoot me even when his sister’s life was at risk. He hesitated when the most important person in his life could be killed at any moment if he refused.”

“I wasn’t talking about that. I was talking about-.”

“Ferris Air, when he betrayed me? When he saved my life?”

“By killing someone!”

“I never said I was okay with that, Iris. I still don’t know how I feel about Lewis. But my life wasn’t the only thing that Snart saved that at Ferris Air. He saved my conscience, stopped me from doing something that I’d regret for the rest of my life.”

“He released a bunch of meta-human criminals who hate you!”

“And why’s that? They don’t hate me because I stopped them. I’ve stopped the Snarts and Rory a bunch of times, but they don’t hate me. The ex-pipeline prisoners hate me because of what I did to them. I put them in solitary confinement without any sort of trial or opportunity for reform. Then, I tried to ship them off to an even worse prison outside the country like they had no basic human rights.”

“It was the best you could do in that situation.”

“No, it was the easiest option. I work for the police, Iris. I know exactly how many laws that I broke with those metas. Sure, I was angry at Snart for betraying me, but I betrayed those metas first. I’m meant to be a hero, yet what I did was a whole other level of evil.”

Iris sighs. “I won’t tell Dad, even though I think he deserves to know that Snart’s been making cocoa in his kitchen. I still don’t think you should trust him, Barry. Snart is a villain after all.”

I smile. “Well, he’s being a terrible villain lately. Wouldn’t surprise me if he tries to call rescuing a kitten from a tree a villainous act.”

Iris doesn’t smile, but she does relax a little. “I’ll go have that chat with Eddie, then. You owe me one, Barry Allen.”

“You’re the best, Iris.”

“Don’t you forget it.”

I head up the stairs and pause halfway up. Len is sitting on the top step, sipping his cocoa. “Can’t say I’ve been rescuing any kittens.”

“How long have you been there?”

“Well someone neglected to tell me which room was his, and I doubt your detective foster dad would like me snooping around.”

“So instead you just eavesdropped?”

Len stands up. “I’m a criminal, Barry. What did you expect?”

“Honestly?” I climb the stairs and slip past him. “I thought you’d already know which room was mine.”

“And why’s that?” Len asks, following me into my room and closing the door.

I open my bottom drawer of my bedside table and grin. “‘Cause that’s where the marshmallows are. Only mine are supersized.”

Len shakes his head, smiling. “And to think, I only call you kid because you look like one. I never realised the Flash had a secret sugar stash.”

I fold my arms. “It’s an emergency supply. I get hypoglycaemic if I don’t have enough calories.”

Len raises an eyebrow.

“It’s a speedster thing,” I mumble.

“Mumbling and pouting. It’s a wonder your other villains were ever scared of you.”

I throw the marshmallow pack at his face. Len easily catches it.

“Now that’s just childish,” he scolds, tearing a marshmallow into tiny pieces and sprinkling them over his drink.

I sit on my bed. “What’re you doing here, Len?”

He leans against the wall. “Can’t come see my favourite speedster after breaking out?”

“I do happen to watch the news. You didn’t break out alone. I don’t think you planned it either.”  
“What makes you think that?”

I lean against the headboard and smile. “It was too sloppy.”

“And what does your team think?”

“They think you’re out to get revenge on me for breaking the deal.”

“I broke it first.”

“I know that, and so do they.”

“But?”

“But they don’t trust you. Can’t really blame them. After Wells… It’s hard to trust our allies, especially when they steal for a living.”

Len pauses mid-sip. “You think we’re allies?”

“Well, yeah. I mean we are friends and it’s not like I expect you to stop being Captain Cold or anything. But when it comes to it, we aren’t out to hurt each other and do occasionally save each other’s life. I’d call that being allies.”

“Thought your allies involve teaming up.”

I shrug. “Well, technically we’ve teamed up twice now.”

“I’m not here to team up, Scarlet.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I just need to tell you something and then I’m out of it. Terrible villain or not, I’m not about to start helping you fight the bad guys unless it directly benefits me.”

I smile. “And I’m not about to stop calling you one of the good guys.”

Len sets the mug down. “I really wish you would.”

“No, you don’t.”

“ _Barry_.”

“ _Len_.”

He folds his arms. “I’m not joining your hero brigade.”

“Now who’s pouting?”

Len shakes his head. “Do you want to know what Mardon and Jesse are planning or not?”           

“Fine. Give me the details.”

“I’ll do one better. I’ll give you their location. Okamuru Toys, an abandoned shipping facility here in Central.” Len picks up my mug, studying it. “Obviously, if they find out that I told you that, they’d ruin my reputation. So do try to wait long enough that they at least believe you and your team figured it out all on your lonesome. Be sure to monitor the place though. They’ll probably move when they figure out that I’m not on board with the plan.”

I stand up. “I’m not letting you get targeted because of me again.”

“How sweet.”

“I mean it, Len.”

He smirks. “I’m just looking out for a friend, Scarlet. Mardon and Jesse want you dead. I’ve only just become a free man again. I still haven’t explored the benefits of being a master thief with the city’s hero as my friend.”

“I’ll still stop your heists.”

“You’ll certainly try.” Len raises my mug and waltzes out of my bedroom. “See you around, Barry. Do try to catch those psychopaths before they ruin our city.”

I run over to Star Labs with the intel. It’s only after I’ve convinced everyone that Len’s helping as a favour after helping his sister, that I realise something. Len walked out with my mug. He stole something right in front of me and I was too busy grinning at his good side showing to notice. Len’s never going to let me live that down.

*

Caitlin corners me after I come back from dropping Mardon and Jesse off at Iron Heights.

“Hey, Caitlin, what’s up?” I ask.

“Don’t hey, Caitlin, me, Barry. What’ve you got on Cold?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Captain Cold gave us invaluable information on this. Now I’d like to think it really was out of some version of honour over us saving his sister, but this is Cold. He doesn’t do anything that doesn’t directly benefit him. So, why’d he give us their location? What deal did you make this time?”

“There wasn’t any deal, Caitlin,” I say.

She folds her arms. “Don’t lie to me, Barry. I might be glad we handled this all quickly, but I deserve to know, we all deserve to know what you gave Cold for his help.”

I shrug. “A mug?”

“Leonard Snart, master thief, snitched on his fellow criminals for a mug?”

“Well, I didn’t really give it to him. He just kind of took it, though he was still drinking his cocoa, so-.”

“You made him cocoa?” she shrieks.

“What? No! He made his own cocoa. You know, right after he broke into my house to warn me about Weather Wizard and the Trickster.”

Caitlin throws her arms in the air. “And you let him get away with all this? You know what? Don’t answer that. I’m just going to go somewhere else and forget this conversation ever happened.”

She spins on her heel and marches away.

“You’re still coming to the party tomorrow night, right?” I call.

“Yes, I’m still coming to the party. I just don’t want to deal with your bizarre capacity for forgiving Leonard Snart right now.”

It’s not that weird. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to argue that with Caitlin. She’ll take it out on me the next time she patches me up. It’s happened before. ‘Oops, I forgot the anaesthetic doesn’t work on you. Ah well. You shouldn’t have rearranged my medical supplies.’

I run home before anyone else can question Len’s motives. It’s not like I can explain that he’s looking out for a friend. They’d lock me in the pipeline until I was ‘thinking straight’ again. After that fight and the past couple of days, all I want to do is nap. It doesn’t really matter when they find out we’re friends; they’ll still get mad. One nap’s hardly going to make a difference. Plus, it’s Christmas. There’s been enough drama with Wally already. I’m not going to add to that.

My usual two hours sleep last night kind of went out the window, but I reckon I can get an hour in before Joe gets home from the station. I feel like I should be there too, helping Patty after this Mardon business, but it’s been kind of weird around her. I don’t want to keep accidentally sending her signals or something again. She doesn’t need to deal with that right now. Really, the best I can do for anyone is take that nap. I’ll face the world after my injuries from the fight heal.

I step into my bedroom and freeze.

Oh you have to be kidding me. Seriously? I can practically see that nap fading from my future. Because of course Leonard ‘Casually Break into his Friends House’s’ Snart is in my room. He’s sprawled out on my bed, arms hooked behind his head. I shut my door with a resounding thunk. Len’s smirk somehow grows larger.

“See I just can’t understand, Scarlet.”

I open my mouth to say something, anything, to find out what the hell Len’s doing here, but no words come out. I clamp my mouth shut.

“Your bed’s actually pretty comfortable.” He slowly sits up, cross-legged. “So why’ve you only been getting a couple hours of sleep?”

“What?”

Len rolls his eyes. “I said-.”

“No, I heard you.”

I try very hard not to point at that I came here to nap, but somehow I don’t think he’ll like the reason why I need the extra sleep today.

“Then…” Len looks at me expectantly.

“Then what?”

“Then answer the question, Barry.”

“The question.”

“Yes. Would you like me to repeat it?”

“No, I…” I sit on the edge of my bed “Why’re you here, Len?”

“Well, last time we had this conversation, you ran away.”

“That’s because I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“I don’t care.”

“You don’t … care.”

Len sighs and skirts to the edge of my bed. He pokes the back of my head.

“Did they knock you around too much or something, Scarlet? I thought you healed minor injuries quicker than that.”

“They didn’t. I do. I just…”

Len’s amusement drops. “You sure you’re alright, Barry?”

“Does Mick know?” I blurt out.

Len’s walls close up. I hadn’t realised they’d dropped.

“Does Mick know what?” he repeats, the Cold drawl back.

“That you came to check on me. That we’re … friends.”

That’s the first time I’ve hesitated on declaring it. Len definitely notices.

“Haven’t talked to him since before I iced my father.”

“But…”

“But what?”

“But he’s your best friend, your partner.”

“So?”

I rub the back of my neck. “So why are you here?”

Len smirks. “You’re deflecting. I’m not that easy to trick, Scarlet.”

“I’m not. I wasn’t. I just-.”

“If you must know, I’m going to see Mick and Lisa tomorrow. Got to get started on planning my comeback heist.”

I groan. “Can’t you wait until the cops aren’t on a manhunt for you.”

“Aw Scarlet, I didn’t know you cared.”

Cared. Care. “Why do you?” I ask. “Care, I mean. You came here before you went to anyone else, just to what? Give me a warning? But then you just come back here and lie on my bed and ask why I’m not sleeping like you care and I know you sort of agreed that we’re friends and all, but you haven’t even seen your best friend or sister yet. So why are you here, Len?”

“I can’t have my favourite speedster not show up at my comeback heist because he’s too exhausted. That’s just bad for my reputation.”

“No.”

He raises an eyebrow. “No?”

“That’s not it.”

“I think you’re deflecting again,” he says. “How about you just tell me why you aren’t sleeping, and I’ll get out of your hair?”

“You’re the one deflecting here, Len.”

“I’m the one deflecting?” He scoffs. “And what, Barry, could I possibly be deflecting from? Remember that I’m the one who came here to interrogate you, not the other way around.”

“Exactly. You came here, twice into a detective’s home, for me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Barry. The world doesn’t actually revolve around you. I know that’s hard for you hero types to understand.” He leans back. “Plus, it’s not like anybody will look for me here because surely one of the CCPD’s best CSIs wouldn’t be harbouring a criminal.”

“I’m not harbouring you. You broke into my house, again.”

“You’re the Flash, Barry. If you wanted me gone, I would be.”

“I never said that. I just meant that if anybody asked, I’d tell them you broke in, which you did. I don’t suppose there’s any point in changing the locks.”

“Considering I got in through your bedroom window, no.”

I stare at him blankly. “You climbed up to my bedroom window?”

“I didn’t know if either West was here. Figured you wouldn’t want to explain that situation again.”

“No, you just waited on bed, where either one of them could’ve walked in and seen you.”

I don’t think I’ve been gladder that neither Joe nor Iris is actually here.

He shrugs. “They don’t know about your lack of sleep. I doubt they come in here much.” Len sits up. “Speaking of, we’re done with you deflecting. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“We’ve been through this, Barry. Your health affects my reputation. It’s a rather complicated connection, so I’d rather not explain it again.”

“No, it just makes you worry. And you came here first, risking discovery, because you care. You care about me, more than you’d like, otherwise you wouldn’t spend so much time deflecting.”

“As always, Scarlet, you’re being ridiculous.”

I lean forward. “Am I?”

“Yes.”

“Then, considering you’re here, I guess you don’t mind.”

“I never said that.” But he doesn’t lean back.

“It’s okay.” I lean forward a little more. Len doesn’t move. “I can read between the lines.”

I kiss him.

I don’t give him a chance to react before I pull back and turn the shade of my suit. Len doesn’t move. His eyes stay fixed ahead. He doesn’t say anything.

“Len?”

His eyes lock on mine.

“Are you okay? Should I have not…? I just thought-.”

“No.”

I swallow heavily. “No?”

“You didn’t think. You never think. You can’t…” Len stands up, eyes going everywhere except at me. “This is a bad idea, the worst. I’m not-. I’m not a good idea, Barry. I…”

“You don’t hate me for it?”

His eyes lock on mine again. “Never.” He pales. “I could never hate you. I… Dammit, Barry! Why would you do that? I’m a criminal! I hurt people and I don’t care. I killed my own father. I’m not like you. I could never play hero.”

“I know.”

“Then why would you do that? It can’t work. You know that, right? We could never… We’re too different. At the core, we’re too different.”

“I don’t care.”

“You don’t…” Len throws his hands in the air. “I’m done. I can’t handle this right now.”

“Len-.”

“This changes nothing, Scarlet. It can’t. You’re…” He sighs and stalks across my room to my window. “See you around, Flash.”

He jumps out.

I fall back on my bed and groan. I just kissed Len. I kissed Captain Cold. And I can’t tell anyone about it, can I? I’ve got to figure out this mess without help. Maybe Felicity would give me advice, but she’d tell Oliver and he’d… I don’t need another lecture about how strange my relationship with my villains is. Especially not now. All I can really do is wait for his next heist. I’ll find out then whether I’ve ruined this, whatever it is, between us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things with Mardon/Jesse get sorted out in this AU faster than the episode. I just didn't want to write the particulars because this chapter already almost doubles the word count for the entire work so far. There will be fight scenes in later chapters when they're more important to the overall story.
> 
> Oh, and the first kiss happened.


	5. Just a Favour

**LEN**

Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.

Barry slides into my booth at Saints and Sinners. “Hey, Len, I need a favour.”

Dammit. I check if anyone has noticed. It’s bad enough that the whole of Iron Heights knows we’re friendly.

“What is it?” I ask, resigned to temporarily abandon my fries for the conversation.

“Well, I didn’t want to ask after, you know.” Barry turns an almost scarlet. “But you were pretty annoyed about the whole not understanding my enemy thing when Zoom, well, hurt me so badly, so I wanted to ask if you could help with that. Understanding him, I mean, and preparing for future fights.”

I lean forward, to keep his secret identity secret, not because Barry’s face turns full scarlet now and it’s inhumanly adorable. “So, what? You want me to come to Star Labs and give you some advice in planning? I’m not sure Team Flash would be too happy with that.”

“They’ll understand that it’s a necessary price to pay to defeat Zoom.”

“Uh huh. No other reason you want me there?”

“Nope. It’s just a favour. I’ll even repay it later, so long as whatever you ask me to do can’t be traced back to the Flash or Barry Allen, of course. You don’t have to feel bad for helping the good guys.”

I consider the offer. I could definitely use holding this favour over Barry, but…

“Zoom is my problem too. He happened to break my very cute friend’s back. I’d like to make sure he’s properly compensated.”

Barry folds his arms. “That’s not fair. You can’t just say something like that and expect me to not want to kiss you.”

“Want all you want, Scarlet. It’s still not a good idea, and I’m still not worth the risk.”

“I think that’s up to me.”

“Tough. Now, are we heading to Star Labs right now, or do you want me to turn up later in full Captain Cold regalia and terrify your friends?”

Barry grins and digs into his pocket. He pulls out a golden lightning charm.

“Bring the cold gun.”

I take the charm with a smirk. “Possessive much?”

Barry pulls out his phone. It has a silver snowflake charm attached to the case. His grin somehow grows when I finally look back at him after a somewhat embarrassing long moment.

“I don’t think you can talk.” He slides out of the booth. “I’ll see you in an hour. I need the time to actually tell my friends that you’re coming.”

I shake my head. “Careful, Barry. Delaying the inevitable backlash will only make things worse.”

Barry leans down close. “Well, you would know all about delaying the inevitable, wouldn’t you?” he whispers into my ear.

I swear he speed kisses me before strolling out of the bar with a smile.

Oh, and half my fries are gone too. Bloody speedsters.

I consider waiting like he asked, but the kid needs to learn not to trust me so easily. If I leave now, I can be at Star Labs within twenty minutes. I’m sure even Barry can’t justify my help in that time. Hopefully his team’s outrage at the idea of just my help will make Barry realise that our friendship is impossible enough. He doesn’t have to risk adding more.

It’s bad enough that everyone in here is staring as I walk out. Barry wasn’t exactly subtle in his intentions towards me. The fact that I let him walk away shows just how mutual it is. This is what I wanted to avoid. Barry got upset when I was targeted in Iron Heights for my association with him. I’m concerned some low level thug will target an unsuspecting ‘defenceless’ CSI and get more than they bargained for. With how careless Barry is with his powers in an emergency, the whole Central City criminal underworld could learn his identity. Then again, I should know better than to try and reason with Barry Allen, King of Impulsive Bad Decisions and Stubbornly Sticking to Them.

*

I stroll into Star Labs and make eye contact with every camera. First thing Scarlet should worry about is upgrading the security of this place. It’s not exactly difficult to figure out that the Flash is connected to Star Labs. The kid practically advertises it on nightly basis. And don’t even get me started on the lightning bolt symbol. All it takes is one Google search to find out who got struck by lightning on the night of the accelerator explosion. Anybody who knows anything about metas knows they’re powers come from something they were doing that night. It’s like wearing a neon sign saying, ‘I’m Barry Allen, and I’m the fastest man alive.’

I approach the cortex and smirk as I step inside. “Twenty-seven,” I say.

Barry turns to me, Flash suit on, cowl down and a wide grin that he shakes off.

“Twenty-seven what, Snart?” he asks.

“Twenty-seven cameras between the front door and this room. Oscillating too. It’d take me ten minutes to sneak past all of them.”

Cisco scowls. “Then why’d we catch you in all of them?”

“Because I wanted you to see me coming.” I pat the cold gun, smile growing when both scientists see the lightning bolt charm. “Next time, you won’t know until I’m already gone.”

Dr Snow whirls on Barry. “Tell me that snowflake on your phone case is a seasonal reference and not matching that thing on his gun.”

Barry shrugs. “Snart wanted a price for his help. At least this one was to get a laugh and doesn’t involve breaking any laws.”

For a man who’s so terrible at keeping a secret identity, Scarlet sure can lie on demand. There just might be hope-. No. I won’t put both his jobs, his livelihood and even his life at stake. It’s a bad idea. The worst.

“What can I say? Guess I’m fresh out of ways to betray the Flash. It’s far more fun to embarrass him instead. Imagine the media’s reaction when he gets hit by my cold gun and they get a close up of his symbol decorating it.”

Barry rolls his eyes, earning him a smack from Dr Snow.

“This is what I was talking about! He’s a criminal, Barry. A couple of favours isn’t going to change that.”

Listen to your doctor, kid.

“Sure, I’ll go tell Harry that we’re no closer to rescuing his daughter because we’re incapable of working with a thief. You know, the same thief that risked his reputation, something he’s spent years building, to help us out with Weather Wizard and the Trickster.”

“Cold didn’t help us!” Cisco shouts. “He just sat back and watched us handle it, so that he didn’t have to justify his deal with you when he didn’t want to work with them.”

“Oh, so now you acknowledge that Snart’s sticking to the deal.”

“Scarlet, cool it.”

He sighs. “Right, we’re here to figure out Zoom. Snart’s good at figuring out his enemy, obviously. He had me pegged after our first encounter.”

“Yeah, that you’re decent enough to save innocent lives,” Cisco points out.

“Want me to apologise for the usher, tech boy?”

He scoffs. “I doubt it’d be genuine.”

“I don’t normally kill innocents. Or did all your background research on me not tell you that?” I step forward. “Oh, that’s right. If you did your job properly and read through your enemies’ histories, you would’ve recognised my sister when she played you. That’s the problem with you lot. You find out what could’ve made someone go bad and leave it at that. No wonder you’re always stopping villains at the last minute.”

“Stop it,” Barry says.

“Stop what, Scarlet?”

“Stop being an ass. I asked for your help. If you’re going to be a jerk about it…”

“You’ll keep rushing into every situation without thinking the consequences through?”

“This time, I did think it through, thoroughly. You already agreed to this favour. If you decide to no more after this, then fine. I’ll leave you alone, stop asking for your help. It’s your choice. Decide on what you really want or ignore it and pretend you’re okay with sitting around, doing nothing.”

“Million-dollar heists are hardly nothing, Barry.”

“You know what I mean.”

But it’s a bad idea. We both know it. We’re enemies. We fight each other on a regular basis. That’s not going to change. It can’t change. I won’t change. You certainly won’t. If word gets out, you’ll lose your job. If word gets out, nobody will think the Flash is a hero. If word gets out, they’ll target you, your friends, and your family. It’s a terrible idea, another of your impulsive, impossible decisions. And I think I might just like it a little too much.

I sigh. “I do. We can work out my pay rate once I have you idiots approaching this Zoom situation with a little more care.”

“That’ll be a difficult task.”

I watch as none other than Harrison Wells walks into the cortex and slouches onto one of the chairs.

“I thought you were dead,” I say.

“I’m from another Earth.”

“Right.” I raise an eyebrow at Barry.

“I’ll explain it later.”

“Appreciated.”

Wells, or did they call him Harry? He digs into a Big Belly Burger bag.

“So did the other Wells do anything to you?” he asks nonchalantly.

“Just gave me some extra amusement for my heists,” I say, gesturing to Barry.

Harry nods. “Well, my Earth’s Leonard Snart is Mayor of Central City. I was surprised to see you were a criminal here.”

I smirk at the astonished yelps from Cisco and Dr Snow. “Suppose I’ll always be a master planner then.”

“No doubt here,” Barry says, his eyes betraying a fondness that has me looking away.

Harry either doesn’t see it too, or just doesn’t care. “I’ve compiled all the information we have on Zoom so far.” He hands me a flash drive.

I eye Barry when I take it. He rolls his eyes.

“I’ll be sure to stop by once I’m caught up,” I say.

“Or you could not come back here ever again,” Cisco suggests.

“Ramon, do try to keep your opinion to yourself,” Harry says. “We need all the help we can get to beat Zoom.”

“I’ll walk Snart out,” Barry says. “Keep his involvement to us four for now. I somehow doubt Jay would approve.”

Dr Snow seems to react visibly to that, but she schools her expression. “And what about Joe, Iris, and Eddie?”

“They’ve got enough going on with Wally right now. No need to bother them with this.”

I stifle a grin. Should be interesting when West figures out his newly discovered son isn’t the law-abiding citizen the rest of that family is.

Dr Snow and Cisco glare at me on my way out. Harry merely unwraps his burger and starts eating. Barry falls into step beside me until we reach the elevator. I reach for the button, but he puts his arm out and stops me.

“There are three cameras in this room alone, Scarlet.”

“Good thing I disabled them, then.”

I slowly turn and face him. “Just might make a criminal out of you yet.”

“I don’t think Central’s quite ready for the return of Stan.”

“It was Sam.”

“What?”

“You criminal alter ego. It was Sam.”

Barry’s face splits into a wide grin. “And you remembered that.”

“Of course, I did. My memory is near perfect.”

“I thought you only bothered to remember important information.”

“I do.”

“So anything to do with me is important information, then?”

“Obviously.” I roll my eyes at the implication he’s no doubt thinking. “You’re my enemy, Barry.”

He shakes his head. “Nah, I’m pretty sure we agreed that we’re allies.”

“You stated as much. I didn’t agree. That seems to be how things work with you.”

“But you didn’t deny it. And when I kept it up with the friends thing, you ended up going along with it. That seems to be how things work with _you_.”

I notice how close he’s standing, not that I have any intention to move.

“Have you actually thought things through, or were you just saying what I wanted to hear?”

Barry smiles. “Both. I can’t lose my job if I file a letter of association, which I’ve already done. My boss asked me a few questions about it, and I reminded him that I had a report to be completed an hour ago.”

“You deflected.”

“Learnt from the best.”

“We both know that’s not true, but I’ll come back to that another day.”

I’m still impressed he managed to get away with the not sleeping thing. Good thing I have a plan in place for it.

“Well, I know things can’t change between the Flash and Captain Cold. That’s a given. I’m sure we’re mature enough to separate our little fights from Barry and Len.”

“I may be.”

Barry frowns. “I’m sure you can remind me that I promised to not hold it against you if you win a fight.”

“And if I accidentally hurt a civilian or a cop?”

“I trust you’re good enough to not do that.”

“You have too much faith in me, Barry.”

“Says the man who’s only been giving reasons why it’s a bad idea for me, not mentioning a single one for how it might affect you.”

I shrug. “I’m already a criminal. Can’t fall much further than that.”

“No, you’re a good man, Len. You wouldn’t be helping us with Zoom for free if you weren’t.”

“That’s just me being selfish, protecting who I ca-, protecting this really annoying badge who won’t take a hint.”

“And what hint is that?”

I lean close enough that our lips are almost touching.

“I’m a thief, and I take what I damn well please.” I look Barry in the eye. “Last chance to back out of your worst idea yet.”

“No chance.”

Our third kiss is a hell of a lot longer than the other two. I walk out of Star Labs a little while later with a massive smirk. Barry probably won’t remember to fix his dishevelled hair before going back to the cortex. Not that his friends would suspect anything. They’ll probably think we got into a fight over the terms of our arrangement or something equally ridiculous. And they have the gall to question all of Barry’s decisions. Bringing me onboard might’ve been his best idea in facing Zoom yet. The added benefits are payment enough for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm curious. Who do you think will be the first three people to learn about this little development and how long do you think it'll take?


	6. Just a Robbery

**BARRY**

I don’t know what’s worse. That Singh called me into his office the moment I walked into the precinct this morning, or that Eddie is waiting outside, curious about the wide smile I couldn’t cover up when I arrived. Because apparently after everything that went down last week with the Reverse Flash returning, I shouldn’t be walking around with a grin. It’s hardly my fault that Len bought me a whole bunch of ice-cream in Coast City last night. I ran us there, of course. As far as first dates go, it was pretty sweet, even if it took me a couple of weeks to convince him to go on one.  
Captain Singh passes me several pages the moment I sit down. It’s filled with crimes I’ve processed from around the time I woke up from the coma.

“Is something wrong, sir?” I ask.

“That is every single crime scene or analysis you’ve worked on since Leonard Snart stole the Kahndaq Dynasty Diamond. Highlighted are the ones that involve Snart in some way.”

“There aren’t any highlighted.”

I avoided working on those scenes because of our deal.

“Noticed that too, huh?” Singh takes the document back. “So how exactly did you meet the man and know him well enough to justify filing a Letter of Association? And don’t think to skip on the multiple prison visits, Allen.”

“The whole point of filing that form was so I legally can’t give you information on Snart. Yes, I know him. Yes, I visited him in prison. Yes, we happen to be friends. I’m sure you’ve already got the recordings of our conversations, so you already know that. I certainly didn’t plan to be friends with a master thief, but these things just happen sometimes. That’s what the form is for. I won’t let that interfere with my job, and I definitely don’t approve of his life choices. Is there anything else, Captain?”

“When Snart and you had a private conversation in Iron Heights, what did you two talk about?”

I smile, knowing the truth will just confuse him more. “He heard I got injured and wanted to check up on me.”

Singh’s jaw actually drops. I take the opportunity to leave his office before he has time to process the fact that Leonard Snart is capable of caring. Considering how annoyed Len was when I told him that another evil speedster was in town, the idea of him not caring is frankly laughable now. Not that I’m telling my boss about the amount of times that Len almost went after the Reverse Flash himself last week. Apparently going after my mother’s killer isn’t the same as fighting on the side of heroes. Like he hasn’t been analysing every single bit of information we have on Zoom just because that speedster broke my back.

“Hey, Barry,” Eddie says the moment I close the door behind me. “Mind if we have a little chat, groom to best man?”

Somehow, I doubt this will be about his and Iris’s upcoming wedding.

“Sure, let’s head to my lab,” I say, avoiding eye contact with Joe, who raises an eyebrow at us.

I wouldn’t say that I’ve been avoiding him or anything. It’s more like I’m giving him space to get to know his real son. I’m sure if he knew whom I was dating (because I’ve actually been forbidden from calling Len my boyfriend) Joe would be glad to have Wally as a son he can be proud of. To say he’ll never approve of Len is an understatement. None of them would. As much as I want to tell all of them, especially Iris, I won’t stand for them questioning my life choices on top of all the Flash stuff.

“So, are you going to need a plus one?”

I trip on air and only stop myself from falling down because of my speed.

“What?”

“To the wedding. Are you going to need a plus one?”

“What makes you think I would?”

Eddie backs off a little. “Sorry, I just thought it was kind of obvious. You’ve been less angry in our boxing sessions lately and just kind of happier in general. I thought you were seeing someone. I get if you’re not ready to introduce them to your friends and family yet, but the wedding’s still a while away. And when you like someone, it tends to last a while, so I just assumed you’d still be a thing by then, by which point… Yeah, would you want a plus one?”

“I don’t.”

“Well, if you change your mind-.”

“I won’t.”

“I get being unsure about it if it’s still early on.”

Unsure is one way to say it, terrified it’ll blow up in our faces but relishing every second is another.

“I’m not seeing anyone.”

Nobody I can take to your wedding, at least.

Eddie’s eyes widen at that. “But I thought-.”

“You thought wrong.”

“Not even a crush?”

I almost smile at how well Eddie knows me.

“Too busy dealing with speedsters from other Earths.”

“Well, if something does come up, you know you can talk to me, right?”

I almost take him up on the offer, almost. But Iris would actually kill me if I spoke to Eddie about any ‘crushes’ before her. And I’m pretty sure Eddie would redraw his offer once he knew about Len.

Instead, I just shrug and mumble an, “Of course,” before finally starting work, forty-five minutes after I was meant to.

*

The second I arrive at Star Labs an alert goes off. Caitlin gives me this ‘I told you so’ grimace, while Cisco scowls.

“The Rogues have been spotted at Iron Heights. Reports say they’re robbing the guards and targeting a bunch of prisoners in General Pop.”

“This is his big comeback heist, really?” I groan, changing into my suit. “Who’s Snart got with him?”

Caitlin answers. “Captain Cold, Heatwave and Golden Glider are reported, but camera feeds are down.”

I nod and take off for Iron Heights. This doesn’t seem like Len’s usual play. He’s never targeted a prison he’s been incarcerated in before. Then again, I’m pretty sure he hasn’t been attacked by his fellow inmates in years. I wouldn’t be surprised if the prisoners they’re targeting are the ones who left him covered in bruises. I understand wanting to get payback on bully-types, but if he’s set out to kill… No, he wouldn’t want the heat. And he knows full well that our deal stands. Relationship or not. If he crosses that line, he won’t be leaving Iron Heights tonight.

He’s probably just trying to send a message to those who did target him. And I’m sure he finds it hilarious to steal from his former prison guards. For once, this ‘robbery’ has nothing to do with the prize and everything to do with the people. I skid to a halt outside Len’s old cell. I’m not ashamed to have known exactly which one was his. The inside has more damage than any other part of the building. The ceiling, floor, and walls are coated in a thick layer of ice. The bars are melted, and the corridor wall framed with gold.

I shake my head at the theatrics, only just noticing the blue light in the corner of my eye. I speed out of the way of the cold blast, duck under the gold, and then phase my way through a few cells to dodge the flames.

“Mind leaving your guns out here and securing yourself in the cells?” I taunt.

“Now, now, Flash. Since when have I made your life easy?” Len retorts.

“I’m sure I can make a list, but I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.”

That earns me a cold blast that just nicks my shoulder.

“Mick, Lise, why don’t you go find dear old Dad’s old cell? I’m sure it’ll give you the chance to work through some anger,” Len says.

He covers them with another blast from his cold gun, but I make no real attempt to follow. If someone had given me the opportunity to destroy any semblance of Eobard Thawne’s things, I wouldn’t have hesitated. Too bad we don’t know what belonged to him or to the actual Harrison Wells. Len definitely notices that I don’t bother to escape from our fight, his smirk growing into an almost-grin.

Cisco on the other hand. “Dude, what are you doing? Knock Cold out and go after Glider and Heatwave already.”

“Can’t let him out of my sight. Snart might be tempted to hunt down his old fellow inmates.”

It’s bullshit and Len knows it, but Cisco is momentarily placated. I ignore the rise of anger that he actually thinks Len would behave that way out of spite.

“Guessing the next time I put you away, nobody’ll dare target you,” I say, slipping on some iced floor and wincing as I use a wall to stop.

“Something like that. They certainly won’t think I’m a snitch.” Len actually lets up for a moment while I regain my balance. “Plus, it’s good for our reputation to target a prison and still not be stopped. I mean, Lisa and Mick have already gotten away.”

I dodge a blast. “But-.”

“We went after that bastard’s old cell the moment we got here.”

“And you think I’m just going to let you get away?”

Len pulls out a familiar flash drive. “You did want my help, didn’t you?”

I hesitate for a literal second and he ices my feet to the floor. Len holsters his cold gun and tosses me the flash drive. I catch it with a scowl. He saunters up to me and slides a piece of paper into my other hand, spinning around and strolling away with his usual smirk.

“See you around, Flash.”

I speed read the piece of paper and find an apartment address. I can’t help the grin. “Sure thing, Cold.”

By the time I vibrate my feet out of the ice, the Rogues are long gone. I make sure all the prisoners are secure and head back to Star Labs. This might actually be an early night, all things considered. Knowing Len, that was probably part of the plan. That or it’s because my work finishing time is the same as most cops’, and their response time would’ve been slower as the night shifters started.

Cisco and Caitlin aren’t impressed, to say the least.

Then I hold up the flash drive. “Does being one step closer to stopping Zoom help?” I ask.

Harry chooses that moment to walk in, snatch the drive out of my hand and plug it into one of the computers.

Cisco scoffs. “Hello, Harry. Nice to see you, Harry. Thanks for the help, Harry.”

“You had it under control.”

“It was three against one!”

“It was the Rogues and Allen sparring. And considering Snart gave us this, it was most probably a cover too. Iron Heights’s cameras are easy to hack, the tight space slows Allen down and makes his loss believable, and being indoors means less chance of smartphone footage. Meaning, there’s no way Zoom would think Snart is working with us on this.”

“And them attacking a prison means the cops will be everywhere in Central tonight, so less chance of crime or meta attacks,” I add. “I think I’ll take the early night. Call me in if something comes up.”

Caitlin frowns suddenly. “Have you been getting enough sleep usually, Barry? I can’t help noticing this is your first early night in a while.”

“Of course. Any sleep I get is pretty solid. It’s why I’m always late to work,” I lie.

She nods. I speed change out of my suit, give everybody a wave, and head to a certain apartment, the address clutched tight in my hand.

*

Len opens the door on the first knock and immediately drags me inside, kissing me.

“The shoulder okay?” he asks, between breaths.

“Little tender. Feet are worse.”

“Thought all the running would thaw them.”

“All the running is why they haven’t healed yet.”

Len immediately stops, giving me a once over. “Maybe you shouldn’t be standing.”

“I’m fi-.” Len throws me over his shoulder without hesitating. I let out a slightly high squeak of surprise. “Len! Put me down!”

“You should know better than to order around your nemesis, Scarlet.”

“You are not my nemesis,” I say, while taking my only chance to look around his admittedly standard looking apartment.

Kitchen and dining on one side of the door, living room, bedroom and presumably bathroom on the other. Sparsely decorated, but that’s kind of expected with Len.

Said thief walks into his bedroom, flicks the light on and unceremoniously drops me onto his bed. I fold my arms and most certainly do not pout.

“Was that necessary?”

He tosses me some loose sleeping clothes. “Get changed and go to sleep, Barry. I don’t want you out of that bed until sunrise, or so help me, I will ice you there.”

“But I haven’t even had dinner yet.”

Len narrows his eyes. “Shoes and socks off. Let me check your feet first.”

I roll my eyes and do what he says. “See, they’re not even that bad.”

“Are your feet usually stained with blood?”

I shrug. “Guess the ice slowed the usual healing down. I mean, them being red is pretty normal. Caitlin says it’s a wonder I haven’t destroyed the bones from all the pressure they’re under. The advanced healing keeps up with it most times.”

Len picks me up without warning again, and yes, I know I can see things happen faster than normal people, but I’m more relaxed around him. Oliver would throw an actual fit if he heard me say that about one of my ‘enemies’. Len deposits me more carefully in the bathroom, and points to some spare towels and stuff.

“Take a bath, not a shower, at a normal human speed, while I make us some dinner. Then, you’re going to bed, Scarlet. Your reactions were all off tonight. I need you properly rested for the actual heist.”

“So that _was_ a cover.”

“Obviously.”

“Didn’t just want to ruin your old cell?”

“The real question is how you knew exactly which one was mine.”

I fold my arms. “Told you I was prepared to break you out if I had to.”

“I’m touched.”

Len walks away.

“You say it like it’s sarcasm, but I know it’s true!” I call, as he closes the door behind him with a laugh.

I take one step out of the bathroom when I’m done, and Len just appears, like he’s the one with superspeed. He crowds me back inside until I sit onto the edge of the bath.

“Let me see.”

I sigh and lift my feet. “Look, no more blood.”

He nods and lets me back up. “Good, didn’t want to have to bandage them.”

“You were going to fix me up after our Flash and Cold fight?”

“It’s not like I can trust you to take care of yourself.”

I follow him out and over to the dining table.

“I’m touched.”

Len shakes his head. He gestures to the table stacked with mountains of mac & cheese. “This enough food for your metabolism?”

I grin and kiss his cheek.

“Yeah, thanks, Len.”

“No problem, Barry.”

Len doesn’t stare when I eat, like everyone else does with that half-concealed disgust and half fascination. When I ask if there’s any dessert, he just points to the fridge and says something about muffins. In less than a second, I have them on the table, my third roughly stuffed into my mouth. Len just smiles and continues eating.

“You’re not weirded out by this?” I ask, when he finishes.

Len shrugs and takes a muffin for himself. “I saw all that running you did earlier tonight, Scarlet. The energy has to come from somewhere.”

“Normally Cisco makes me these high calorie bars, but they’re really gross. Your food’s so much better.”

“You don’t cook?” Len asks, collecting the dishes and heading over to the sink to wash them.

“Oh, I do. It’s just I don’t really have time in the morning ‘cause I’m always running late. I know, you’d think being a speedster, I’d have all this extra time, but not even superspeed could cure my chronic lateness. Then at night, I usually don’t have the time, or I make dinner and am called out for some meta problem. So, I just end up having the food for lunch the next day or something. I swear the only time I get to eat proper freshly cooked food is Saturday Night Family Dinner, but that’s just become a whole bunch of awkward with Wally sometimes coming around, sometimes not, and us not really eating until we know for sure which one it is. And then crime doesn’t really stop on weekends, so I end up running out anyway.”

“So, you need roughly an hour break after you finish work to properly eat and be at peak performance? Okay, I can make that happen.”

I scoff. “What, you’re going to stop all crime for an hour every night?”

“If I have to, sure. It’ll take a month or two, and I might struggle a bit with Zoom and his metas, but I could make it in everyone’s best interest to leave crime aside from six to seven. Don’t even get me started on the benefits doing that could do for mine and my Rogues’ reputations. We’ve already got nobody daring to do a thing for the rest of the night after we pull a job.”

I can’t help grinning. “You know, you’re doing a terrible job of pointing out the flaws of dating my favourite villain.”

“The problem a day text isn’t enough?” Len asks, strolling back to his seat.

“They’re honestly helpful. They keep me grounded and stop me from overthinking about Zoom and all that scary stuff.”

Len stiffens, half-way to sitting. “You’re scared of him?”

“He broke my back. Zoom terrifies me, even more than Reverse Flash did, and he literally spied on me for most my life.”

Len sits. “But you still run around Central with a giant target on your chest to try and stop him?”

I shrug. “I’m the reason he’s on this Earth in the first place, and I’m the only one fast enough to stop him. Well, not yet obviously, but after some more training, I’ll definitely get there. If I don’t face him, who else will? I’m not letting anyone else die for me, not after Ronnie, and not after Eddie came so close.”

“You’re too good, Barry Allen.”

“I don’t know. I’ve got this supervillain boyfriend-.”

“No.”

“Significant other?”

“No.”

I sigh. “Supervillain guy that I’m dating. Plus, if you saw the property damage costs, you might rethink the whole hero definition. I’m lucky I’m not blamed for it like O- Arrow is.”

“Not at the point where you can tell me your hero friends’ identities?”

“He would actually shoot me if I told you.”

“You can’t manage to dodge an arrow?”

“I can dodge what I can see, but Arrow made me learn the hard way that I don’t case my surroundings properly, even though I have the extra time to do it.”

Len laughs. “He is certainly right about that. For someone so fast, you fall for misdirection way too much.”

“Just because I’m capable of solving a problem within a millisecond, doesn’t mean I remember that in the middle of a fight.”

“Well, I’ll just have to make my heists that much more challenging for you to stop, so we can up the Flash’s game. Don’t want to make me bored, Scarlet.”

Something settles in my gut wrong, and it’s not the muffins.

“That’s not what this is, right? You being bored?”

Len’s humour drops completely, a kind of intense seriousness taking over that he doesn’t even get in his heists.

“Barry, I wouldn’t spend so much time telling you all the reasons this could go wrong if I was doing this for fun. I may be a lot of things, a liar included, but I will never fake the way I feel about you. You have my real phone number, you know my actual address, and you didn’t get immediately shot when my father threatened to kill Lisa if I didn’t shoot you first. I trust you, Barry. Wish I didn’t. Wish I could see you as just the Flash, a pain in my ass. Wish you didn’t make me so damn vulnerable. But that’s not the case, and frankly, I’m not sure I could go back and change it now without tearing out what little light I’ve got left.”

I don’t consciously move, just appear kneeled next to Len, and start peppering him with kisses.

“Thank you,” I say between kisses. “I’m sorry I doubted, I just…”

“It’s okay, Scarlet. You’re allowed to be scared.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Not scared, not of this, not of you. Feels right. Just don’t want to mess it up.”

Like everything else in my life.

Len catches my line of thought and cradles my face in his hands.

“You won’t,” he whispers. “You won’t,” he says louder, sure.

“But you keep saying that-.”

“We’re insane for trying and there are a million things that could go wrong. But it’ll be their fault for not accepting, for not understanding this thing between us. If anything goes wrong, it’ll be on them, not us. Do you understand me? It’ll never be your fault.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I can. I do. I know you, and that’s enough.”

Len kisses me properly before I can protest, vanquishing the doubts back to the deepest part of my mind, where the nightmares lie. Where that feeling of utter helplessness of Zoom breaking my back, of watching the Reverse Flash kill my mum, of that look in everyone’s eyes when the Flash doesn’t save the day, when someone gets hurt, when I’m not good enough.

Len pulls back suddenly, noticing the tears gathering in my eyes.

“Barry, what’s wrong?”         

I bury my face in his shoulder and wrap my arms around him tight.

“I just can’t right now,” I mumble.

“Okay, okay. Let’s get you to bed then, okay? I just need to stand up a little and-.”

I unwrap myself from him and awkwardly stumble to my feet. Len looks at me with unrestrained adoration as he stands up. He takes my hand and leads me to his bedroom, flicking off lights as he goes. I let go of his hand for a moment and shrug off my shirt. Len raises an eyebrow at that.

“I run warmer than most people, ‘cause of the whole cells moving faster thing.”

“Not complaining, Scarlet.”

I follow his gaze and look away. “It was the lightning.”

“The what?”

“The lightning gave me abs.”

Len bursts into laughter, trying desperately to stop himself. I can’t help smiling a little. It is kind of ridiculous.

“Sorry, Barry, I just-.” Len cuts himself off with his own giggling.

Captain Cold giggles. Oh, the blackmail material. If I wasn’t worried about them asking how I knew, I’d be threatening to tell Cisco and Caitlin the next time I wanted something from Len. But looking at the thief trying so hard to stop laughing and just laughing more, I’m pretty sure he’d give me whatever I asked for. The warm feeling that gives me banishes the last of those dark thoughts back to where they belong.

He finally manages to stop laughing long enough to get changed, a small smirk appearing when I blatantly don’t turn away. He ogled my abs first. Only fair I get to stare at his before he slips a different shirt on. Len points at his bed.

“Get in, Barry.”

I comply. Len tucks me into bed, actually walks around and tucks the covers under the mattress on my side. He hovers awkwardly, surveying the pillow situation.

“Do you need any more pillows?” he asks.   

“Just the one.”

Len goes to turn away. I roll my eyes and grab his arm. He looks down at my hand then back at me, with a confused tilt of his head. I pointedly give his arm a small tug and stare back at him. Realisation finally dawns on his expression and Leonard Freaking Snart blushes.

“Oh.”

I shake my head and laugh, pulling Len down. He climbs over me and under the covers, holding his left arm up, so I can snuggle closer and rest my head on his chest. Len switches the lamp on his bedside table off and gently massages the sore spot on my shoulder. I’m pretty sure he can feel the grin pressed against his shirt.

“No excuse for getting a bad night’s sleep now, Scarlet.”

I sure hope my usual reason stays away tonight.

“You have a weird way of inviting me over to spend the night for the first time,” I mumble.

Len shrugs, rippling the muscles on his chest. “Told you the prison robbery was just a cover.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody guessed one of the first three to figure out Len/Barry's relationship in the comments of the previous chapter. Two were correct, but you'll still have to wait a bit to find out which two.


	7. Just a Courtesy

**LEN**

I honestly expected to wake up with an armful of shirtless speedster. That being my first thought of the morning is disorientating enough. The fact that I do not have an armful of shirtless speedster is worse. And isn’t that just a perfect example of the madness my life has turned into thanks to Barry ‘Dating a Villain’s a Good Idea’ Allen. Who sounds like he’s trying to destroy my kitchen right now.

It most certainly does not relax me that he hasn’t left without saying goodbye. We’ve been on one date. The Rogues job last night doesn’t count as a second one. Though maybe dinner and feelings sharing last night sort of does. I don’t actually remember the last time I was in any sort of serious relationship. And this is one with a badge, an actual superhero, and a 100% good guy. I’m still waiting for someone to come in and say the game’s over. Like this is all some meta’s twisted idea of a good time.

Then I hear Barry actually singing in the kitchen and know this couldn’t be fake. I didn’t even know he _could_ sing. The kid’s got a decent voice. I’ve half a mind to make the next date a karaoke bar, except Captain Cold can’t be caught within a mile of one. It’s times like these that I wish I’d gone the secret identity route. Not that Star Labs would’ve allowed that to stay secret for long. No, don’t go down that line of thoughts right now. It’s too early for that, and I swear I can smell pancakes. Best to just crawl out of bed and trudge towards my singing Scarlet.

He stops singing when he sees me, greeting me with a wide smile, as he turns to flip a pancake.

“How can someone who’s apparently chronically late to work be up so early in the morning and have the energy to sing?”

It’s not even 5.30 yet.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“You didn’t, and I’m not complaining about that, Scarlet. You’ve got a good voice. Just wondering why you’re not still in bed.”

“Bad dream woke me up a little while ago, so I figured I’d make us some breakfast.”

I raise an eyebrow, a whole lot about his non-sleeping suddenly making sense.

“Bad dream?”

Barry smiles, quick, bright, and clearly fake. “It wasn’t that bad. Bit of an over exaggeration really. I’ve had worse.”

“That doesn’t make it any less real.”

Barry shrugs and keeps flipping pancakes.

“They’re why you haven’t been getting much sleep, aren’t they?”

“I already told you. Staying up late with Flash stuff, then getting up early for work just takes a bit of a toll.”

“It’s a wonder that you can lie to my face and actually think for a moment that you’re getting away with it.”

“I’ve done it before.”

“I knew that ice gun was a vacuum cleaner, Barry. I was letting you and your woefully unprepared friends get away.”

“Knew you had good in you.”

“Knew you were a master at deflecting.”

“You already got want you wanted, Len. Last night was pretty much the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. Waking up snuggled against you was great too.”

Against and on top of are two different things, which I will not be going into right now.   

“You got woken up by a nightmare.”

Barry shrugs. “I already told you it wasn’t that bad.”

“Bad enough to wake you up.”

“Guess I’m just a light sleeper.”

Says the man who fell asleep within five minutes and even after constant poking refused to budge off his makeshift pillow aka me.

I let it go for now, only because I wouldn’t put it past him to eat all of breakfast before I can even pick up a fork.

“Are you making enough food for yourself, or should I start making something extra too?”

Barry gives me that same weird look he gave me last night when I said I wasn’t bothered by his metabolism. It kind of makes me want to hunt down whoever has been and show them pictures of what happens to a person who doesn’t get enough food for their energy outputs. But of course, Barry’s friends and family live in a world where everyone can afford three meals a day and bad cop dads don’t use starvation as another lesson.

“I’ll make some scones,” I say, moving around Barry with a dangerous familiarity.

It’s only been one date, a couple of weeks, and almost two years of unresolved tension that’s now missing. It shouldn’t be this easy to move around each other without words. It shouldn’t relax me when Barry starts singing again. It shouldn’t feel safe and peaceful. I shot at him just last night! His feet were bleeding because of me. I’m a villain. I don’t deserve-.

Barry pulls me back against his chest. He snakes his arms under mine and wraps them around my stomach. He drops his head on my shoulder and tilts it to the side, looking up at me.

“You okay?” he mumbles.

I wrap my arms around his and take a deep breath. On the exhale, I release all the tension in my body and practically flop in Barry’s arms. He keeps me upright without flinching, looking at me with worried hazel eyes.

“I am now,” I eventually answer with a weak smile.

Barry’s responding smile is a blinding one that he covers against my neck.

“I’m here for you,” he whispers against my skin. “Never doubt that.”

“Even when I don’t understand why?”

“We’re good for each other, Len. We make each other better. Even if we’re the only ones who see it. That’s why you’re mine.”

Barry somehow pulls me tighter, closer, to emphasise that. He kisses my neck and jaw, holding me still so I can’t turn around and kiss him back. When I start to struggle against his hold just a little, Barry immediately stops and looks me in the eye. He appears to decide that I’m not genuinely uncomfortable, and he smiles a little, before returning to his ministrations. Captain Cold does not melt into the Flash’s arms at that. But Len might melt into Barry’s a little.

The second that Barry lets up, I turn around and drag him into a kiss. Barry grins against my mouth and I can’t help grinning back, eventually just giving up and pulling him into a tight hug.

“Thank you,” I mumble against his shoulder.

“Anytime.”

I let out a laugh at how ridiculously emotional Lisa and Mick would call me.

“I really care about you, Barry Allen.”

“I really care about you too, Leonard Snart.”

I groan. “I’m taking your last name if we ever get hitched.”

Barry doesn’t miss a beat. “Good. Bartholomew is bad enough. It’d be a travesty to make it worse.” He pulls back in my arms and grins. “Plus, you _are_ a thief. Only right that you end up stealing my name too.”

I kiss him properly for that and to distract from the way I just casually mentioned marriage in a conversation with a guy I’ve been dating for a couple of weeks. I’m meant to be the one who slows things down out of the two of us. But Barry’s like an addiction at this point. I thought it was bad enough before he kissed me at Christmas. Ever since he flashed me that all too fond smile in Iron Heights, I’ve just wanted more and more. Now I don’t know if I can ever stop. And I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Isn’t that terrifying?

“You know, Scarlet, I should put those scones in the oven at some point.”

Barry looks at me with mock betrayal, like it’s the worst thing in the world to decide if he wants food more than he wants to keep kissing me. I’m neither offended nor surprised when he pushes me towards the mixing bowl.

Once I have the scones in the oven, Barry serves the now room temperature pancakes on a plate and puts them on the dining table.

“Sorry, they’ve gone cold,” he says, as we sit down.

I raise an eyebrow. “The cold never bothered me, Barry.”

He smiles while stacking his plate with pancakes. “I am so getting you to watch Frozen.”

“Not going to happen.”

“What about once we defeat Zoom?”

I take in the way he’s trying to look up at me through his eyelashes like he’s not a grown-ass superhero. I sigh, resigned to my fate to follow wherever Barry leads, not that he ever needs to figure that out.

“Fine.”

“You’re the best, Len!”

“I have a list of people who’d disagree. You happen to work with them.”

Barry shrugs. “I’d rather have something good to look forward to after defeating another speedster trying to kill me instead of worrying about another big bad guy to take Zoom’s place. Last time that was meant to be catching Mum’s killer and Dad getting out of prison. But good things rarely stick around.”

“Do you think telling Doc Allen about me would get me running back to Central?”

Barry stares at his pancakes. “I honestly don’t know. He was pretty set on the me and Iris bandwagon, but I think that was his way of holding onto something from before. I guess I’m just too different from the Barry he raised to remind him of good times.”

“Then he’s missing out.”

Barry smiles weakly, swallowing a bite. “I guess.”

“And Iris?”

“Is my sister. Seeing her with Eddie made me jealous for a while, but I guess I was just trying to hold onto something from before too.” He looks up. “Plus, I’ve got this really hot guy that I’m dating who keeps me from doing stupid things regardless of how it makes him look. Iris, and all of them really, just told me that I had no other option but to go against my conscience. Unconventional trumps unethical.”

“Don’t act like you forgive me just because you don’t want to fight about it.”

“I act like I forgive you because I do. You heard me talking to Iris about it, and I didn’t know you were eavesdropping.”

I take a bite and swallow heavily. “But you’re not sure about my father.”

“I don’t think I ever will be sure. I can’t condone killing someone. It just goes against everything I am. But I know why you did it, that you were protecting your sister from him.” Barry takes a deep breath. “And I know you might do it again to protect someone you love. I don’t know what I’d do then. I want to say that I wouldn’t take you to prison for it, even if it was justified, but I just don’t know. I can’t decide who deserves to live and die, Len. Not with my power. That kind of thing could send me over a line that I can’t cross back from.”

“I won’t let you cross it.”

Barry smiles tiredly. “You can’t promise that, Len.”

I grab his hand and grip it tight. “I promise that I will never allow you to cross that line, Barry Allen. I don’t care if you hate me for it. I will take the choice out of your hands. I’m not letting your beautiful light fade, not even a little. If I decide someone needs to die, you try your absolute best to drag my ass to Iron Heights. Understand me?”

Barry nods. “You do realise you’ve got an active warrant for escaping prison though, right?”

“Didn’t choose to break myself out, Barry. I served time. Iron Heights couldn’t hold me. And, I helped the Flash put away the guy who did break me out. It balances out.”

“I think a couple of my colleagues might disagree on that.”

“Well, I am helping with Zoom too. Maybe the Flash can get me a pardon as part of a deal.”

My tone is obviously joking. The way Barry nods is certainly not. I doubt his team would even allow him to do such a thing. The problem is, I’m not sure Barry cares.

I finish my current pancake off in silence, grab the scones from the oven, and set them down on the table.

“Don’t touch until they’ve cooled off, Scarlet.”

He nods. I sit back down and continue eating.

“Eddie asked me if I needed a plus one to the wedding,” Barry says suddenly.

I choke on a bit of pancake. “He what?”

“Apparently, I’ve been happier than normal, so he figured I was in a relationship.”

“Surprised a CCPD Detective is actually perceptive,” I mutter, earning a glare from Barry. “What’d you say?” I ask.

“That I’m too focussed on evil speedsters from other Earths to worry about that kind of thing.” He grins, that ‘has the power to light up a room’ grin. “Course it helps that my partner-.”

“Mick’s my partner.”

Barry rolls his eyes. “Fine. It helps that the guy I’m dating happens to be helping with said evil speedster problem because he cares, even if he doesn’t like admitting it.”

And because Barry’s not the only master of deflecting…

“You know what? I forgot the jam.” I slide out of my chair and stroll over to the kitchen.

“You know I can get anything without you even blinking, right?”

“You still have to do it, Scarlet. Just because you’re doing it faster than anyone else, doesn’t mean it’s any easier.”

“Tell Cisco that when he asks me to move his lab tech for him.”

“You’re perfectly capable of standing up for the entire city, but you need me to do as much with your own friends?”

“It’s different.”

“You, Barry Allen,” I say, dipping my finger into the jam and wiping it on his nose, “Are a child.”

Barry sticks his tongue out to try and clean the jam off. I fix him a glare.

“What?”

“I can’t believe you’re the city’s saviour.”

“Because I can’t touch my nose with my tongue?”

“Because you’re trying.”

“Well, you’re the one who put it there.”

“I’m a villain. I’m supposed to mess with the heroes.”

Barry pointedly looks at the scones I’m spreading jam on.

“You’re feeding me food, so I don’t pass out.”

“I said I’m a villain, Scarlet. That doesn’t mean I can’t be a half decent person to date.”

“Just admit it’s a mouthful already and choose a simpler label.”

“Give me something that fits, and I’ll consider it.”

Barry’s phone rings before he can say anything. A blur of lightning appears, and he has it in his hand. That was still in my bedroom, wasn’t it? Barry glares at the device like it’s personally offended him. I glance at the caller ID and take a seat. This should be fun.

“Answer the phone, Barry.”

“You’re not going to say anything in the background, right?”

“I value my freedom.”           

Barry sighs, and hits the speaker phone. “Hi, Joe.”

“WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?”

That explains not holding it to his ear.

“At a friend’s house.”

“Caitlin or Cisco?”

And wow, is Barry really not expected to have friends outside Flash business?

“Neither. You don’t know him.”

West stumbles on that. “Is that where you stayed last night?”

“Yep. Sorry I didn’t tell you. Figured with me being an adult and all that you wouldn’t worry if I was gone for one night.”  
I cover my mouth to stifle a laugh. Barry notices and smiles.

“You didn’t come back after dealing with the Rogues. I was worried they’d hurt you again.”

“Cisco would’ve told you if I got hurt, Joe. And it’s not like the Snarts and Rory are that big of a problem. I can handle them fine.”

“But after…”

Barry scowls. “Zoom broke my back. It hurt like hell and took a chunk out of my ego. End of story. I’m still the Flash. I’m still going to fight him and anybody else who’s a danger to the city. I’m still going to get hurt, but I _will_ recover, like I always have. I’m not that scared kid you took in all those years ago anymore, Joe. If something does happen out there, someone will tell you. If I decide to spend the night at a friend’s house, I’m going to do it without telling you. It’s not like we usually even see each other until we get to work anyway. You don’t need to know exactly what I’m doing all the time. That’s not why I moved back in and you know it.”

“This isn’t because of Wally, is it?”

“No, Joe, it’s not because of Wally. I just wanted to spend the night here, with my friend, who I was eating breakfast with.”

“Before I called. Yeah, I can still take a hint, Barr. See you at work.”

“Bye, Joe.”

“Guess that’s why you hate me calling you kid,” I say.

Barry points a scone at me. “Don’t even start, Snart.”

“Ooh, Snart now. Someone’s grumpy.”

“Eobard Thawne—the same guy who travelled back in time, tried to kill me and then killed my mum instead—stalked me for years, monitored every part of my life, and had cameras in my apartment, at Joe’s house, and at the CCPD. He knew exactly what I was doing every day for fifteen years. And now, now everyone at Star Labs, everyone who knows my secret and has just decided to insert themselves into my team without even asking, they expect to know who I’m talking to, what I’m doing, and where I am every single second of every single day. If they don’t, then apparently, I become incapable of answering a meta alert, or apparently, I’m being kidnapped by the military again, or apparently, I’m lying dead in an alley somewhere.

“Because according to my _friends_ I am incapable of taking care of myself even though I have superpowers. Superpowers, Len. I can run fast enough to tear a hole in time, but if I don’t send a text to say I’m staying at a friend’s house, which is a lie because admitting I’m staying the night at your apartment would make them drag me into the bloody pipeline, but if I don’t send that text then I must have a problem with Wally. It simply must be something that I think someone has done to wrong me, not like I happen to have a life that doesn’t involve crime fighting 24/7. So, I think, Len, that I just might have a right to be a little grumpy.”

I’ll definitely be revisiting that being kidnapped by the military thing at a later point, but for now, I reach over and wipe the jam off Barry’s nose.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t take you seriously while that was still there.”

Barry huffs. “You could just say that I’m overreacting.”

“I may be a liar, Barry, but I won’t tell you that.” I continue spreading jam onto the scones. “Now, didn’t you say something about a breakfast being interrupted?”

Barry accepts the scone I pass him. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” I check my watch. “You might want to eat a little faster though. I don’t want to be the reason you’re late.”

Barry smiles. The food and plates disappear. I look over at the sink. It’s empty.

“You didn’t have to clean the dishes too.”

“Just a courtesy. You did them last night, after all.”

“If you want to follow that logic, then I guess you better cook dinner next time.”

Barry leans across the table. “Next time, huh?”

“If you want.”

“Just text me, and I’ll be over in a flash.”

“Make sure you knock, or I’ll leave you in the cold.”

Barry tilts his head to the side. I roll my eyes.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you phase through a wall last night, Scarlet. I don’t keep my heist plans here, but Mick and Lisa do show up sometimes. Can’t have them know I’m dating the Flash, now can I?”

“Do they know about Barry?”

“They’ll know when they need to know. For now, I’d rather keep you to myself.”

“Am I allowed to tell anyone? I don’t think they’d accept it, but I just wasn’t sure if this was a thing that we’re keeping secret for secret’s sake or because the backlash is just too headache inducing with Zoom still a problem and all that. Because if you’re uncomfortable with anyone knowing, I totally understand. It’s just that I’m not. I can’t be fired for it. And unless my identity’s revealed, the Flash won’t be caught up with it either. So, you can tell Lisa and Mick and anyone else you want to. Obviously, you’ve got your reputation to keep and-.”

“Barry, stop.”

He bites his lip. I try to smile reassuringly; it probably comes out as a grimace.

“I don’t mind if you tell anyone. Just text me or something when you do, so I know to look out for the inevitable punch.”

“I won’t let them hurt you!”

“Barry, it’s fine. Okay?”

He deflates. “Okay.”

I gently cup his jaw and kiss him. “Now go get ready. You do have to go to work at some point this morning. I don’t want your team hacking your phone’s GPS and knocking down my door if you’re too late.”

Barry rolls his eyes. “That wouldn’t even surprise me.”

So, I _should_ talk to Rathaway about getting something to block trackers in a building, especially if Scarlet decides to turn up in his Flash suit at any point. I know that thing’s got a tracker. And I’ve no interest in either moving or the Star Labs bunch knowing where I live. I’m sure Barry would like the idea of not being found when he’s here. Even I don’t keep constant tabs on him like his friends do, and I’m meant to be his villain. Keeping track of your most valuable asset is one thing, but trying to control the life of someone you call your friend…

And they say Barry’s too soft on me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That Joe call wasn’t planned, but I wanted to point out that Team Flash doesn’t even consider that Barry could have a friend that isn’t friends with them too. It’s important in their past and future obliviousness in this AU to Barry/Len’s blatant closeness.


	8. Just a Ringtone

**BARRY**

I force myself to swallow a Jitters muffin without blinking. If I close my eyes, even for a nanosecond, I see their faces. It’s my fault they’re dead. If I had just stayed here. If I’d been faster. If I’d done something, anything different. I wipe tears back for the second time today. It’s because I’m still sore from King Shark. At least that’s what I’ve been telling the team. Iris and Wally sit across from me laughing over some Flash Fails video, acting so normal, so carefree. Suddenly their laughter stops.

“Damn, Barry, you should see this one,” Iris says.

“I’ll pass.”

“No, seriously, Barr. This one’s a tribute.”

I choke on a bit of muffin. “A what?”

Wally rolls his eyes. “The Official Flash Fails channel did a tribute video to the Flash.”

That’s… That’s Len’s channel.

“You’re sure it’s not another-.”

“Just watch the video, Barr,” Iris says, showing me her phone.

The video’s called ‘A Message for our Hero.’ I recognise the background song immediately. It’s some cover of Stand, a very familiar cover. Iris was right. It’s not one of those slapstick videos. It’s got all of my biggest fights, the ones that looked hopeless, the ones that I won anyway. By the end, the tears are back in my eyes. The video fades to black, a gold message across the screen.

‘We believe in you, our hero who keeps standing even when he’s been knocked down so many times.’

It’s only as I’m reading the hundreds of supporting comments that I realise where I recognise that cover from. It’s mine. Len used my cover of that song for… Does he even know? Or did he just find one? I need to know. I need to talk to him. I need to thank him.

“You okay, Barr?”

I look up at Iris and smile. “Yeah, just didn’t expect that.”

“What happened?” Wally asks. “What made you…?”

“Cry? Rough couple of weeks. This just brought that all out.”

He frowns. “When King Shark attacked, I called you a coward. I didn’t know you were holding onto all of this, whatever it is.”

“I lost someone recently, a friend. Zoom put his hand through his chest in front of us. I’d say I’ve never felt so helpless in my life, but…”

“Your mum?” Wally asks.

“Yeah.”

Iris grips my hand. “Jay wasn’t-.”

“Don’t. Please, Iris, just don’t.” I pull away and stand up. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Barr, if you need to talk…”

“I’m fine, Iris.”

“That’s bull and we both know it, Barry Allen.”

I shrug. “Doesn’t change anything.”

Wally surprisingly covers for me with some questions about Flash Fails doing a tribute and wondering about the timing. I smile to myself as I walk out of Jitters. Len’s been worrying about me ever since I got back from Earth-2. I’ve been keeping my distance and throwing myself into Flash work. He even tried robbing a bank to get my attention, but I sped in, took the goods back, and tied the Rogues up in a warehouse on the other side of the city. I can’t risk relaxing and falling asleep with Len, not now. Even he won’t be able to soothe the nightmares after I watched them die. Not that he knows just how bad the dreams gotten.

*

Eddie practically drags me out of my lab for another boxing session. He doesn’t ask any questions or mention the video, just holds the bag as I throw punch after punch. I take the bag for him next, watching as all that worry hidden behind his relaxed façade breaks through. Like him, I don’t ask any questions, but the answer is obvious. Jay was killed in Star Labs. It’s meant to be safe there. Iris walks in and out all the time, the same Iris who throws herself into danger without any training or hesitation.

I don’t promise to keep her safe no matter what. I can’t make that promise, not now, not when I know just how helpless I am to stop Zoom. No, remember the video. Remember the comments of Central City citizens, and some stretching across the world too. They all saw him break my back, and yet they still have faith. I won’t fail them again. They need the Flash. So what if Barry Allen is plagued by nightmares? The Flash has a city to protect. If nightmares want to plague every second of my dreams, then I guess I’ll just stick to only sleeping when I’m too tired to dream.

“I understand why you were so adamant about not having that plus one,” Eddie says, on our way back to my lab.

“What do you mean?”

Eddie sighs. “Having someone close like that who can’t protect themselves from these kinds of threats… I’m starting to get what it’s like for Iris when I go out there and chase down crooks. Is it wrong that I wish she was as far away as possible from all of the Flash business?”

“Sometimes when you push someone away, when you try to keep them away from it all, they remind you of what brought you close in the first place.”

“It’s saying things like that that makes me think you really do have someone, Barry.”

“When would I even find the time for a relationship?”

Eddie shrugs. “I’m sure if they were special enough, you’d make time.”

“And then Zoom would kill them in front of me to make some sort of point.”

“So there is someone? A crush, at the very least.”

I scoff. “I’m a little too old for crushes, Eddie. Even if I did have feelings for someone, which I don’t, I wouldn’t bring them into this life. It wouldn’t be fair to keep everything a secret, so it’s just easier to not bother with relationships.”

“Unless it’s someone who already knows your identity.”

“Well it’s not because there is no someone and there never will be, at least not anytime soon.”

“But what do you want? Imagine that there wasn’t some evil speedster out there and constant threats. What do you, Barry Allen, want?”

Len welcome at family dinners for a start.

I smile. “It’d still be impossible.”

“Want to talk about why?”

“No.”

“Okay. I’ll tell Iris you were feeling better.” Eddie stops midway out of my lab. “Unless you’d rather talk to her?”

“No. She’s got Wally and…”

“I get it, but you’re not intruding on their lives, Barry. You’re as much a West as you are an Allen.”

“Guess that makes us future brothers-in-law,” I say.

“I’ve thought as much since Iris said yes.”

Eddie leaves on that note and I turn to my phone. Len’s been quiet as far as texts go; he even stopped the problem a day message. It’s obvious he’s just giving me the space I didn’t have to ask for, even if random boxes of chocolates end up on my desk in the morning. I had to hide those from Eddie, who has been getting way too suspicious on my love life. Eddie’s mentioned it to both Joe and Iris, both of which told him he was being ridiculous. Of course, that’s under the assumption that I would’ve mentioned something if I had so much of an inkling of a feeling for anyone.

I text Len, ‘ _Knock, Knock_ ’ and grab my stuff.

*

Len greets me with a grin. “Glad you came, Scarlet.”

That’s oddly coincidental but is still a pretty normal greeting all things considered.

I pull Len into a tight embrace. “Thank you for the video,” I mumble.

“Ready to talk about it?”

I grip the back of his shirt. “What’s there to say? Another speedster killed someone I care about? I got Earth-2’s Joe killed? Everyone around me keeps getting hurt but won’t say anything about it because they don’t want to hurt my feelings?”

Len strokes the back of my neck. “How about all those Central City citizens who have unwavering support for the Flash? They believe in you, Scarlet. Even after you fall, we know you’ll stand again.”

“What if I can’t? What if Zoom beats me so badly that I-?” I bury my face in his shoulder. “I can’t lose anyone else, Len.”

“That why you haven’t been around since you got back?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

I want to lie, but I can hear the hurt in his voice. I’m not about to let Len think this is his fault.

“I’ve just been having a couple of bad dreams lately. I didn’t want to disturb your sleep.”

“And you’re incapable of stopping by for an hour or sending a text because…?”

I sigh. “Because just texting you makes me want to be around you, and that relaxes me, which makes me sleepy and yeah. You make me feel too at ease, but then when I go ahead and distance myself, you come around and do something like that video.”

Len pulls back to kiss my temple. “You liked it then? Mick and Lisa have been on my back for the past couple of days for doing a tribute, but you seemed like you needed it.”

“I did. It uh … it made me cry in the middle of Jitters in front of Iris and Wally.”

Len swallows heavily. “It made you cry?” he asks, voice quiet.

“It was beautiful, Len.” I kiss him. “Been wanting to do that since I saw it, but I had to go back to work, and then do a quick patrol.”

“It’ll be back to Flash Fails after this, you know.”

I smile. “Can’t have you losing your reputation, now can I?”

“Bad enough that Brit from the future tried to turn me into a hero.”

“I still can’t believe you passed up an opportunity to steal things from across time.”

“Well, I didn’t take too kindly to his response on whether you’d handle Zoom fine without me.”

I wince. “Was Sara there when you asked that? The uh blonde ninja looking woman.”

“Yes. Why?”

“Because that explains the weird text I got from Arrow claiming again that I have an odd relationship with my villains.”

“Again?” Len asks. “The man who used to run around killing people with arrows had to audacity to tell you that twice?”

I shrug. “I’m sure if he found out you ran the Official Flash Fails channel, he’d say it a third time.”

“Thankfully only you, Mick and Lisa know that. Before the tribute, I might’ve gotten away with it, but now Mick’s saying my obsession with the Flash has crossed into a whole other level of weird.”

“Think it’ll be easier to tell them my identity if they ever learn about us?”

“Probably or else they’d think I was cheating on Barry Allen with the Flash. Once they like you, they’ll end up extremely protective.”

I tilt my head to the side. “So sure they’ll like me?”

“Lisa’s already been commenting on how strange a smile looks on my face, so once they figure out that’s your fault they’ll accept you.”

I break away. “It’s not fair that your family is more likely to accept you dating the Flash than my family is with me dating you.”

Len sighs and walks over to the couch, gesturing for me to follow. I easily fold into his side, head on his shoulder. Len wraps his arm around my waist.

“Barry, you should never feel bad for how you friends and family think of me. That’s on me.”

“But-.”

“No, Barry, let me finish. I’ve kidnapped two of your friends, shot at your foster father and your future brother-in-law, and broken into your sister’s family home. Not to mention all the times I’ve shot at you, sometimes with the intention to kill. I don’t expect everyone to have the amazing, and occasionally frightening, capacity for forgiveness that you have.”

“I missed you,” I mumble into his shoulder.

Len squeezes my hand. “If I’d known it’d take one little video to get you back.”

“I would’ve come by eventually. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

“For a criminal, you can be a terrible liar sometimes.”

“Says the man with an actual secret identity who’s so bad at lying to me, you might as well give up.”

“Yet my deflection skills are pretty smooth.”

“I-.”

“Where’d you find the cover?”

Len shakes his head. “The cover?”

“Of Stand. Where’d you find it?”

Len smirks. “Want a copy?”

“Want to know where you got that one. I thought they’d been destroyed.”

“You mean you thought you destroyed the videos.”

I freeze. “Videos? Plural?”

Len’s phone chooses that moment to ring.

“Is that… Oh, you have to be kidding me, Len.”

Len’s smile grows as he pulls out his phone.

“Recognise the song, Scarlet?”

It’s hard not to recognise my high school duet for Smooth Criminal.

“Where’d you even find that?”

“I have my sources. Who’d have thought the Flash was in show choir?”

I groan. “Why’d you have to make it your ringtone?”

“Well out of all the songs, I think this one fits me best.”

“All the-. You found them all?”

He’s grinning. “I have a playlist.”

I bury my face in my hands. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Why would I lie?”

“Why would you even do this? You must have spent hours trying to find them.”

“Well worth it.”

“You’re going to change it back, right?”

“No. Why would I do that?”

“You realise I could change it before you even blinked, right?”

Len kisses my temple. “Yes, but you won’t.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because that would make my Rogues suspicious. They know I don’t change my ringtone often, and they’ve already heard this one.”

I fold my arms. “That’s your excuse? You made a Flash tribute video using a song that I sang.”

“Nobody’s about to put two and two together, Scarlet. You do that voice modulator thing enough that nobody would recognise your normal voice from Flash voice. Plus, I didn’t even know you could sing until recently. I doubt a lot of people realise either Barry or Flash can hold a tune, let alone track you down from it.”

I snuggle against Len’s shoulder. “I suppose you’re right.”

“What was that, Scarlet?”

“You heard me, Len.”

“Just making sure.”

I sigh. “Eddie’s getting more suspicious.”

“I’m sure you can handle one detective.”

“Wish I could tell him, but he’d go to Iris and Joe. I can’t ask him to keep a secret from either of them. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“And you can’t tell Iris because…”

“Because she was angry enough when she realised I trust you. Somehow I doubt she’d be impressed that we cuddle on your couch talking about our days.”

“This isn’t-.”

I lift my head up slightly and pointedly look between us.

“Okay, it might be,” he admits.

I smile. “If you don’t want to be boyfriends, we can always be cuddle buddies.”

“No.”

“What about-?”

“Is your suggestion going to be a serious one?”

I frown. “Maybe.”

“That’s a no.”

“You’re no fun, Len.”

“Says the man who tied me and my Rogues up in a warehouse instead of fighting us properly.”

“Are you bitter about that?”

“I’m not bitter. I’m understandably annoyed that my Scarlet couldn’t be bothered to give the heist I spent days planning any appropriate attention.”

I laugh. “Cisco was so confused when I did that. He asked why I didn’t stand around chatting for five minutes like usual. And then Caitlin just muttered something about being glad I started treating you lot like criminals for once. Jesse was confused about that, asked why I didn’t hand you over to the cops.”

“Explain our deal?”

“Her dad mentioned that you’re secretly helping with Zoom. She got pretty distracted by the idea of cold bomb traps.”

Len smirks. “Well, someone mentioned that he doesn’t case his surroundings properly. I was working on those as a general anti-speedster weapon.”

“Now I’ll have to look around the entire building at your next heist.”

“That’s the point, Scarlet. Can’t have you being beaten by any idiot who can set a trap.”  

I don’t pout, even if Len gives me his ‘you’re being a child again’ smile that’s gotten more adoring with every instance.

“How was your day then? Got any new Rogues I should know about?”

Len expertly answers the question without giving any information away, but even if he did, we both know I wouldn’t use it against him. Fights with the Rogues are reprieves from the more serious fights. I know they won’t try hurting anyone else. And if they do, Len will be on their ass faster than I ever could. He doesn’t take dissent lightly. At least that’s what he tells his Rogues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eddie completely snuck up on me for this chapter. I was just going to have a sentence or two about their boxing session, then Eddie took that and ran with it.


	9. Just a Nightmare

**LEN**

“STOP! PLEASE! LET THEM GO! STOP! JUST TAKE ME!”

I snap my eyes open and search my room for the threat. Nothing. Barry screams again. I turn on the lamp and flinch at the sight. Barry twists and turns on my bed, tears streaming down his face. I slowly reach out and place a hand on his head. Barry immediately stills.

“Why are you doing this?” he whimpers. “Why do you keep killing them?”

I stroke his head. “It’s just a nightmare, Barry. It’s okay. It’s not real.”

Barry lurches back, almost falling off my bed. I grab his arm and pull him into a tight hug.

“Let them go. Please. I’ll do anything. Just let them go.”

“It’s not real, Barry. Wake up. It’s not real.”

He thrashes in my arms. I hold him tight, one hand wrapped around his waist and one behind his head, burying his face in my shoulder.

“Barry, you’re safe,” I whisper. “It’s okay. You’re safe. We’re all safe. He’s not here. Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

“You can have my speed. Let him go.”

“They’re all safe, Barry. Joe, Cisco, Harry, and Wally. They’re all safe. He doesn’t have them.”

“Please! Kill me if you have to. Take my speed. Whatever you want. Just let Len go!”

I forget how to breathe for a moment. Not the time. Barry needs me.

I kiss his temple. “I’m right here, Scarlet. You’ve got me. He doesn’t. You’ve just got to wake up. I’m right here. I’m safe. You’re safe. We’re safe. Just open your eyes.”

“Please! Let him go!”

“You’ve got to wake up, Barry. It’s just a nightmare. Wake up.”

“I can’t-,” Barry chokes on a sob.

“You can. It’s not real. We’re safe. Just wake up.”

“I can’t lose him.”

I rock him in my arms. “I’m right here, Barry. I’m not leaving you. I’d sooner ice myself than let anyone take me from you.”

Barry shudders and goes limp. I keep rocking him, even when he falls into a dreamless sleep. I can’t stop shaking. I can’t catch my breath. I can’t-. How could he brush these off? How could he just call them nightmares? How could he go through this alone? I can’t stop-. Great, now I’m the one crying. How long have these been going on? How bad have they gotten? How has nobody else noticed? They’re meant to be his friends. His family! Why am I the only one who knows about the nightmares? Why’d he try to hide them from me? Why was I the one Zoom wanted to kill?

I’m being self-centred. Of course, Barry’s had nightmares about everyone else he cares about. Tonight just happened to be me. It was probably only because he fell asleep in my arms. No wonder he didn’t want to sleep here. They weren’t this bad before. Not before Zoom killed that Jay guy. I’ll kill the piece of trash speedster for this, for reducing the strongest person I know to constant nightmares. He’ll regret the day he left his Earth. Nobody makes my Scarlet this terrified and gets away with it. I will end Zoom if it’s the last thing I do, deal be damned.

I gently lie back down, Barry pulled tight against me. The sun’s not even close to rising, but there’s no way I’m falling asleep again tonight. If Barry so much as twitches from another nightmare, I need to be awake to pull him out of it. Maybe I can steal something from Star Labs that’ll knock him out for several hours. It’s just got to deal with his speedster metabolism. Twenty elephant tranquilisers could do it. It’s bad enough that he’s overworked. I won’t have his already limited sleep plagued by these nightmares. If they somehow manage to pin the theft on me, I’ll just claim it’s part of a trap.

Not like they’d ever believe Captain Cold cares. If it wasn’t for Barry, that would never have extended past Lisa and Mick. I can’t decide if he’s ruined me or made things better.

“Len?”

I kiss Barry’s head. “I’m right here. It’s okay. We’re safe.”

He grips my shirt. “He knew. He knew about you. He kept-.” Barry looks up at me and frowns. “You’ve been crying.”

I force a smile. “Caught me red-handed.”

“But why have you…?” Barry pales. “How bad was it?”

“Couldn’t wake you up. I kept trying to wake you up, but you kept thrashing and-.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“No, Scarlet. I’m fine.”

Barry sits up a little and cups my cheek. “You’re not.”

“Well, you don’t have minor nightmares. Guess we’re both liars.”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Little late for that.”

Barry drops his hand and looks away. I reach for the back of his neck again.

“It’s okay, Scarlet. We’re okay. I’m just glad it’s over now.”

Barry sinks back into my arms. “So am I,” he mumbles.

“You want to talk about it?”

“Not really. I wish they’d stop. I wish he’d give up. I wish this would all end.”

“You wish you weren’t the Flash?”

“No. I love being the Flash. I love running. I love catching the bad guy. Sometimes, I wish it was some game though. Arrow would have my head for saying that. I know there will always be cruel people out that, that not all criminals have a code like you, but…” Barry sighs. “I wish Zoom would be as easy to handle as the rest of them. I hate being afraid of him, like I was with the Reverse Flash. I hate letting them get into my mind. I hate losing control like this. That’s not what I signed up for when I put on that suit. I just wanted to stop the bad guy.”

“We’ll stop him. I promise you, Barry. We’ll stop Zoom.”

“But-.”

“Don’t worry about it right now. Just go back to sleep, Scarlet. I’ll keep the nightmares away.”

Barry smiles. “My hero.”

“If that’s what it takes, then just this once I’ll be whatever you need.”

“I need my Len however I can get him. Hero, thief or villain.”

“Just go to sleep, Barry.” My voice certainly does not waver.

Barry’s grin says otherwise. “I’m glad I’m here.” He yawns. “Wouldn’t want to wake up anywhere else.”

He falls asleep within a minute. I sigh. I don’t think I could ever give this up. And isn’t that just peachy.

*

Barry drags me away from Snow’s medical supplies.

“You’re not tranquilising me, Snart,” he says.

I smirk. “Who said the tranq was for you? I figured we needed something for that other, somehow more annoying speedster.”

Cisco scoffs. “You’re not fooling anyone, Cold.”

“You’d be surprised,” I mutter. Barry shoots me a glare. I roll my eyes. “Right, so why haven’t you lot figured out who Zoom is already? Isn’t that usually what you do first?”

Barry rolls his eyes. “Well it’s not like I can just flip through everyone on Earth 2’s CCPD criminal record like I did for you.”

“Why not? Have you bothered to try? Someone that messed up would’ve showed signs before he got powers.”

Harry starts typing. “Perhaps he was one of those recorded missing or dead in the accelerator explosion. I could narrow that list down to known criminals and their last location to-.”

“Wait!” Snow strides to the screen. “Go back one.”

Harry does. “Hunter Zolomon? The serial killer?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Is it me or does he look familiar?”

Snow drops her mug. Barry doesn’t catch it, eyes locked on the screen.

“That’s not… That couldn’t be,” he says.

“Harry,” Cisco says. “Tell us this was Jay’s evil twin.”

“I’ll admit they look similar, but my Earth’s Flash didn’t wear a mask. Someone would’ve made the connection before if there was one.”

“There is,” Snow says. “His Earth 1 doubleganger was called Hunter Zolomon.”

“This is just some freaky coincidence,” Cisco says. “Jay died. We saw Zoom kill him.”

Barry clenches his fists, but his hands still shake. I supress the urge to grab one.

“Wouldn’t be the first time a speedster was in two places at once,” he says.

“Ramon, vibe Garrick’s helmet.”

So the tech boy’s a meta too. I’ll look into that another time.

“It’s not him,” Cisco says, backing away.

“Just do it, Ramon!”

Barry smashes the display case and passes the helmet to Cisco.

“There’s only one way to be sure,” Barry says.

Cisco grabs the helmet. He spaces out for a solid five seconds, then drops it.

He looks to Snow. “It’s him. Jay is Zoom.”

She shakes her head. “No, it can’t be. It can’t-.”

Barry scowls. He takes one look around the room. I draw my gun, spin around, and ice the exit right as Barry reaches it. He twists around and glares at me, his legs frozen.

“Don’t even think about it, Scarlet,” I growl. “Do you really think running off to pick a fight will do you any good? You go out there right now driven by rage and the only thing you’re going to do is get yourself killed.”

“He betrayed us! Another speedster played my mentor and I believed him.”

“And he will pay for it. But not like this. You’ve got yourself a team, Barry. They were played, same as you. Let them help you take this bastard down. He won’t know you’re onto him. We can plan for that now. We’ll figure out his motives and beat him. But if you run after him right now and show your hand, we’ll be back to square one.”

Cisco sighs. “As much as I loathe to agree with Cold, he’s right. We’ve got to think about this, Barry.” He turns to Snow. “Even if we can’t understand why he made those connections with us.”

She stiffens. “I’ll get to work on the speedster tranquiliser.”

“I’ll gather all my data on Zolomon,” Harry says.

I turn to Cisco. “Maybe now you’ll help me with those ice grenades.”

“Fine, but no using them on Barry.”

“No promises.”

Barry clears his throat and pointedly looks at his legs. “A little help?”

I smirk. “I’m sure you can phase out of that yourself.”

“How’d you even know I was about to run?”

“We’ve been fighting for two years, Flash. You’re getting predictable.”

And I’ve recently become familiar with the look that says Barry’s about to do something reckless. Not that his friends need to know how.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There'll be two more chapters that are set within Season 2, though they'll be on the longer side.


	10. Just a Rogue

**BARRY**

Iris is waiting for us when the Star Labs elevator opens. She narrows her eyes at Len. I sigh and walk past her, Len beside me.

“We don’t have time for this, Iris,” I say.

“Not talking about your problems doesn’t make them go away, Barry. You can’t just forget about them like metas in a pipeline.”

I flinch and slowly turn around. Len clenches his fists while spinning on his heel.

“Get out.”

Iris balks at Len. “Excuse me?”

“Get out,” he growls.

“I have every right to be here.”

Len stalks forward, stepping between Iris and me. “You have no right.”

Iris scoffs. “Says you.”

“Yes, says me. I’m here to actually contribute something to this fight. You, you’re just here because you know Barry’s secret, and, for some reason beyond me, you think that entitles you to strut around here like you own the place.”

“What do you know? You’re just some criminal that Barry naively trusts.”

“And how exactly does my being a criminal prevent me from having a pair of functioning ears? Because that’s all I need to know just how little right you have to be here.” Len rests his hand on his cold gun. “Try to use Barry Bleeding Heart Allen’s guilt over those metas again, and I will ice you. Understand?”

Iris rolls her eyes. “Why are you even protecting him? You’re enemies.”

“Why are you hurting him? You’re best friends.”

“I’m not h-.”

“Yes, you are! Use some of that reporter intuition for once and open your bloody eyes! Just because you’ve got it tough right now, doesn’t mean nobody else does too. Or did you forget again that Barry’s a human being too? Superspeed doesn’t mean he’s invulnerable.”

I take a deep breath. Can’t let this get out of control.

“Len,” I whisper. I swat his hand away from the cold gun. “I’m okay.”

Len tilts his head my way, eyes locked on Iris. “Don’t lie to me, Scarlet. It’s alright to be angry.”

“But I’m not. Really, I’m fine.”

Iris smiles. “See, Snart. He didn’t need you to act all heroic.”

“Iris, don’t,” I warn.

“Why? He’s not going to hurt me. If he tries, you’ll save me. Then, you’ll finally realise that this thief can’t be trusted and treat him like the enemy he is.”

I clench my jaw. “Get out.”

Iris recoils like I punched her. “What?”

“Get out of Star Labs, Iris.”

“You’re being silly, Barr.”

“No, you are. You’re purposely antagonising an armed man and seriously expect me to save you. I won’t let anyone abuse my powers like that, Iris, not even you.” I step forward. “So get out of Star Labs before I forcibly remove you. If you won’t listen to your best friend, then at least listen to the owner of the building.”

Iris folds her arms. “You’re actually siding with him over me?”

“This isn’t about taking sides! This is about you abusing your privileges as an unofficial member of this team.”

“Unofficial? I’ve been a part of Team Flash since I figured out your identity.”

“No, Iris. You just came here to be a part of the action and to make sure I’m okay after fights. And that’s fine. I’ve never had a problem with it. But you weren’t invited. Nobody here asked you to join, so you’re not actually an official team member. I’m not singling you out. Even Joe and Eddie aren’t members; they’re our detective consultants.”

“It’s fine, Barry. I understand. No room for family when you’ve got Captain Cold looking out for you.”

I grab Len’s arm before he can follow her.

“It’s fine,” I say.

Len turns to me. “You’re not fine.”

“No, but we’ve got more important things to worry about right now. C’mon, the team has a location.”

*

Harry doesn’t look up when we walk in. “What took you so long?” he asks.

“Iris wanted a little chat,” Len says. “She won’t get in the way of this fight.”

I shake my head before Caitlin or Cisco can ask.

“What have you got on Zolomon?” I ask.

“He was spotted at the docks ten minutes ago,” Harry answers. “If you’d come directly here, we might’ve-.”

“Zoom’s a speedster. Five seconds or ten minutes is the same if the target is on the move,” Len points out. “Chances are, he got spotted on purpose. He won’t have left.”

I nod. “Cisco, we’ll need Vibe.”

“Won’t he expect me?”

Len smirks. “He won’t expect all three of us, and certainly not working together.”

“Knew it was a good idea to keep you secret,” I say.

Harry faces us. If he catches the double meaning, he doesn’t react. “I’ll be coming too. I’m sure Snow can handle comms.”

She nods.

“Right, everyone, grab a pair of power-dampening cuffs each,” I order.

Len frowns. “No Zoom popsicle then?”

Caitlin glares at him. “You do that, and Barry will take you right back to Iron Heights where you belong.”

“Just joking, Doctor Snow. Chill.”

I shake my head at his antics and hide my smile. I’m just glad we’re finally taking down Zoom. Nothing suspicious about the timing at all.

*

“I don’t like this plan, Flash,” Len drawls over the comms.

“This is your plan, Snart.”

“That I came up with in five minutes. Sure, I may have drawn on a general well thought out plan, but even I’m not that good.”

“We’ll be fine,” Cisco says. “The Flash is at the biggest risk anyway. You don’t have to worry, Cold.”

“Oh, it’s just our best chance at beating this nemesis stealer that’s at risk then. I feel better already.”

I stifle a laugh and force my smile down. It’s not the time. It’s not the time. It’s not the-. Len is actually grumbling over the comms.

“Focus,” I order, mainly to myself.

“Whatever you say, Flash.” I swear I can hear his smirk.

Blue lighting streaks past me. I meet his piercing gaze.

“Flash.”

“Zoom.”

Don’t let him know I know.

“How about we end this?” I suggest, taking off.

He matches my speed and throws a punch. I duck and punch his stomach. Zoom takes it and drags me down. We both crash into a shipping container. Zoom starts laughing. I scramble to my feet.

“Scarlet, don’t let him unnerve you!” Len shouts over comms.

I try to cuff Zoom. He grabs my throat and tosses me aside, still laughing. We both stand and run at each other again. Zoom turns at the last millisecond and runs off. I spin on my heel and follow. He leads me around the docks, passing too close to both Cisco and Harry’s positions for comfort. He’s taunting me. Zoom slows down enough for me to catch up, then takes off again, running up the side of shipping containers and cranes, then back down again.

“This isn’t a game!” I shout.

Zoom stops. I almost crash into him.

“No, Flash, this is me proving a point. We’re the same, or we will be once you watch.”

“Watch wh-.”

Zoom takes off. I swear and follow.

“He’s playing you,” Harry points out.

“I hadn’t realised, thanks,” I snap back.

“Cool it, Scarlet. Keep your head on the job.”

I ignore Cisco’s spluttering about this not being some heist.

“Barry, I’m picking up another heat signature at the docks,” Caitlin says.

Hostage. He’s got a hostage. No, no, no.

“Snow, give us a location,” Len says. “Time to throw away the plan.”

Zoom stops, standing on top of that first shipping container. That’s why he was laughing. I was so close and didn’t notice.

I stand in front of it, looking up at him. “Whoever you’ve got, leave them out of this.”

Zoom phases his hand through the metal and pulls out a bruised man.

Dad. No. Not him. I can’t lose him too.

“LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS!”

“The problem is that you never saw you mother die in front of you, Flash. You don’t know what it’s like to watch a parent be killed in front of your eyes as you watch on helpless.”

“Please, Hunter, Jay, whatever your name is. Let him go. Take me instead. Take my speed like you always wanted. Take anything. Not him. Leave him out of this.”

He pulls back his cowl and grins. “Oh, I hoped you’d figure it out. How’s it feel to be betrayed by a mentor again?”

“Barry, Barry, look at me.”

I turn to Dad. “I’m going to save you.”

“It’s okay. Alright? I am so proud of you, Barry. Remember that. Your mum, she’d be just as proud.”

Zoom laughs. “Listen well, Flash. These are the last words-.”

“Oh, shut up.” A breach opens, and a cold grenade pops out. It explodes, freezing Zoom’s feet. Len follows, ice gun aimed at Zoom’s head. “You’re terrible at villain bantering. Seriously, and you call yourself a nemesis?”

Zoom vibrates his hand and holds it against Dad’s neck.

“Rethink your plan, Cold.”

“Already threw it away.”

Another breach opens next to me. Cisco and Harry jump out, the latter aiming his gun at Zoom.

“You hurt Doctor Allen, and you won’t be getting away,” Harry warns.

Zoom’s still looking at Len. “Why would you join him?” he asks. “With me, I would give you control over the city, unrestricted permission to steal whatever you like, and without the Flash running in to stop you.”

Cisco and Harry tense, ready for Len to turn on us. I stop myself from laughing. What’s the point in a heist without the thrill of the chase? Len takes a moment to consider it, buying me time to get on the shipping container behind Zoom and Dad.

“I’m afraid I’m a one speedster kind of guy.” Len ices his chest. “And you’re not my Scarlet.”

I snap the cuffs on Zoom and pull Dad away.

“It’s okay. Told you I wouldn’t let him-.”

A black hand phases through Dad’s chest. Someone’s screaming. Dad slumps into my arms. Someone’s laughing. Blue light streams behind him. Someone’s yelling.

I can’t-.

“Scarlet, I’ve got you.” Arms snake around Dad’s body and help me lower him to the ground. “I need you back here, okay? Just for a minute.”

I wipe away my tears and look past Len. Two Zooms are frozen behind him. One has a hole through his chest, just like Dad. Zoom killed it. He killed his time remnant.

“Feel that, Flash? Feel that rage? Feel that hopelessness?”

I stand. “You’ve made your last mistake, Zolomon.”

I punch him again and again, fists blurring as I scream and curse and ask why, why, why. Caitlin and Cisco are yelling for me to stop. Harry doesn’t seem to care. I keep hitting Zoom and he just laughs. He won’t stop. Why won’t he stop? I’ve got to stop him! I’ve got to-.

“BARRY!” Len jerks me backwards. “Is this what he would’ve wanted? Huh? Would Doc Allen have wanted you to blindly avenge him? Would he want that stain on your soul?”

“He deserves it. He’s killed so many. He deserves to die.”

“And what happens when you start choosing who deserves to live and who deserves to die? How are you going to cross back over that line, Scarlet? What makes you the authority anyway? So, you’ve got superpowers and some tragic backstory. Is that it? That all that qualifies you? Half my Rogues have the same damn thing, and you lot seem to take offence when they start breaking laws. What makes you any different?”

I tear my eyes away from Zoom. “I…”

“You’re a hero and a damn good one. Cross this line and you throw that away. You’ll become like that maniac in Star City. You’ll be feared instead of a symbol of hope. Zolomon will get exactly what he wanted. He’ll make you like him.”

“He killed my dad.”

“I know, Scarlet. If it were up to me, I’d ice him without a second thought. But you’re better than that. You have to be.” Len passes me his power-supressing cuffs. “You’ll make the right decision. That’s just who you are.”

I stare down at the cuffs, then up at Zoom’s sneer. He deserves so much worse. I want to make him pay. I need to make him pay. But I can’t. I’m just not like Len and Oliver. I can’t kill someone in cold blood, even if they deserve it. I snap the cuffs on Zoom.

“Hope you miss prison, Zolomon, because that’s where you’ll be staying for the rest of your life.”

“You’ll regret this, Flash! I’ll get out one day and I’ll tear your friends’ apart, limb from limb, and make you watch. Then I’ll take your speed and raze Central City to the ground. I won’t stop until everything you’ve ever loved has been ripped away from you. Then, right when you’ve given up all hope, I’ll kill you too. I’ll kill you, Flash. I’ll kill-.”

Zoom convulses. Energy blasts into his back again. His eyes go wide and blank.

“You shouldn’t have touched my daughter,” Harry spits, gun still charged.

He keeps firing, but it makes no difference. Zoom’s already dead. He won’t suffer for his crimes. He deserved to die. I wanted him dead. Then why the hell aren’t I happy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure I wrote the 'one speedster kind of guy' line back when I was still working on chapter 2. Then again, I've had chapter 13 written since around chapter 4. Oh, and canonical character death. Reckon I should tag that, or just leave it 'cause spoilers?


	11. Just a Mess

**LEN**

Barry hasn’t been home in days. His friends have been worried sick. I can’t bring myself to care how they feel, not after they’ve been snapping at him and questioning where he’s been spending his nights. Barry has spent every single night since his father died crying himself to sleep and then waking up at least twice each night from nightmares. It took me an hour straight of calm reasoning to get him to take bereavement leave. For some reason his _friends_ seem to think he should be at Star Labs more with his spare time.

Barry had to physically restrain me from going over there and icing the lot of them.

Apparently, it was their way of keeping an eye on him. Like Barry needs to see Harry’s face every day and not know whether to thank the man or drag him to Iron Heights. I didn’t kill Zoom for this very reason. I wasn’t about to put Barry in that position. I obviously care more about him than that asshole from another Earth. I’ve been counting down the days until he and his daughter go home, and I’ve caught Barry subtly doing the same. Of course, the rest of Team Flash are perfectly fine with what he did, despite threatening me with prison if I so much as hinted as wanting to do the same.

Barry’s at Doc Allen’s funeral right now. I wish I could be there for him, but I’m not about to risk starting something when this is hard enough on Scarlet as it is. I’m not even sure if he’ll come back to my apartment today, but I’ve got blankets and pillows set up on the couch if he does. Plus, mini marshmallows for some cocoa, and a fridge full of baked treats. The only unwelcoming looking thing in the main room is my cold gun, though I am increasing the power output right now, so the stream is faster. If it had been that day, maybe I would’ve gotten Zoom quicker and Doc Allen would still be alive.

I finish reassembling the gun when Barry arrives. He’s practically thrumming with nervous energy, making me immediately on edge. Nobody looks this hopeful after a funeral. It doesn’t help that he refuses to meet my eyes, just makes his way through my cupcake supply without a word.

“Scarlet, what is it?”

Barry shakes his head. “Nothing’s wrong. Just feel lighter. I know it doesn’t make sense, but-.”

“What are you up to?”

“Why do I have to be up to anything?”

“You’re not looking me in the eye. You’re practically jumping with joy, which given the circumstances is extremely suspicious. Oh, and you’re inhaling the contents of my fridge like you need the extra energy.”

He shrugs. “I was just going to go on a bit of a run.”

“What have I said about trying to lie to me?”

“There’s nothing wrong, Len. I’m all cried out now. Dad’s dead, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I know that.”

“Then why are you smiling like you’re about to do the impossible?”

Barry saunters up to me, loops his arms around my neck and grins. “Because I just might.” He kisses me before I can ask what, then hugs me tightly and buries his face in my shoulder. “And I need to savour this right now.”

I tense. “Why are you saying that like it’s the last time you’ll get to?”

“I’m not-.”

“The lying, Scarlet.”

Barry deflates. “I don’t know what’ll happen. I hope I’ll save him, maybe both of them, but I don’t know what it’ll change. And I need to hold onto this.”

“You can’t save your dad, Barry. I know you want to, but you’ve got to accept that he’s gone. Even you can’t change that.”

Barry pulls away, refusing to meet my eyes again. “But what if I can?”

“What?”

“I’ve done it before, changed the past. I just have to run fast enough and then I can rip a hole through time and go back.”

“Is that how Zoom got his time remnant?”

“Well, yes, but this would be different. I’m not just talking about saving Dad.”

Something drops in my stomach. “Your mother too.”

Barry looks at me properly, those familiar tears in his eyes. “Don’t you understand, Len? I can save both of them. I’ve had the opportunity to save Mum before, but I threw it away. But after Dad… It has to be some sort of sign. I’ve got to go back to that night. I’ll fight Eobard Thawne, and I’ll win. I’ll save Mum, then Dad won’t go to prison, and I’ll grow up with both of them. They’d be alive. Alive and safe from speedsters trying to kill me.”

_“I don’t care if you hate me for it.”_

A promise to keep him in the light. I pick up the cold gun, as if I’m studying it, as if I’m avoiding eye contact, as if I’m not about to risk this precious thing between us to save his soul.

I turn my gun on Barry. “I can’t let you do that, Scarlet.”

Lightning flashes in his eyes. “Don’t even try, Snart! If this was reversed, if you were me, you wouldn’t even hesitate.”

“But you’re not me. You’re better. I promised you that I wouldn’t let you do something like this. And I keep my word.”

“You can’t stop me.”

“So, what? You’re just going to run back and save your mother? What’s that change? Huh? That accelerator is still going to explode one day. Metas are still going to tear our city apart. But you won’t be there to stop them.”

“Then someone else can! Someone else can watch both their parents be killed by two different men with the same damn powers! Someone else can be reminded of that every single time they feel free! Someone else can be forced to make terrible decisions that just end up screwing everything up worse! I don’t want that anymore. I can’t-. I just can’t, Len. I can’t bear it.”

I toss the gun aside and catch Barry when he collapses into himself. I cradle him to the floor, holding him tighter when he starts shaking.

“It’s alright. It doesn’t feel like it now, but everything is going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. You’re strong, Barry. You’ll come out the other side just fine.”

“But I don’t want this. I don’t want him gone.” Barry sobs. “I just got him back, Len. I can’t lose him again.”

“I’m sorry, Barry. But you can’t go back and change it. You’ve got to go through the pain, just like everyone else. And I’m sorry for that. I really am, Scarlet.”

He shakes his head. “If I just run back, I can save Mum and Dad.”

“And how many other people will die if you mess with time again? You’ve seen what happens to people who abuse their powers like that. You’re the one taking them down. I can’t let you become twisted like them, Barry. I refuse.”

“You wouldn’t even remember saying that. We wouldn’t even meet. I’d never…” Barry shoves me away from him. “That’s it, isn’t it? You only care that we would never had ended up together if I hadn’t become the Flash.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I’m right, then! You-.”

“If I could trade my life for his, I wouldn’t hesitate.”

Barry freezes. “What?”

“Your father was a better man then I ever will be. Sure, the man could’ve stuck around after being pardoned, but that’s his worse crime. Me, I’ve killed, I’ve stolen, I’ve tortured, and I haven’t cared. I don’t want to die, Barry, but if that was the only thing it took for you to have your father back, then I’d do it.”

“I don’t want that.” Barry shuffles forward and hesitantly hugs me. “I don’t want to lose you too,” he whimpers.

I hook my chin over his shoulder and wrap my arms around him. “You’ve still got me.”

“But if I go back…”

“Don’t decide to not go back because of me, Scarlet. I need you to see the consequences for everyone if you mess with time. I don’t trust how I’d handle it if you blamed me for this months from now.”

Barry’s quiet for the longest time. I can practically hear his conflicting thoughts in the deafening silence. Finally, after he tenses and untenses at least a hundred times each, he shifts back a little.

“I won’t blame you.” He sounds so sure that I half reach for the cold gun, but Barry grabs my wrist and shakes his head. “I’m not changing the past. I promise, no messing with time. I’ll leave that to the professionals.”

“I’d hardly call the Legends professionals, Scarlet.”

“I was talking more about their AI Gideon. Apparently, I was the one who made her at some point in the future.”

I gently tug Barry to his feet and guide him to the couch. “Well, you can tell me all about that while I make us some cocoa.”

“With mini marshmallows?”

“Like there’s any other way. Who do you take me for, some sort of criminal?”

Barry smiles hesitantly. It’s rather small, the barest upturn of his lips, but it’s better than that grin he wore before. More honest, less mad with power and grief. I’m going to have to keep a close eye on him for a little while, but I doubt he’s about to run back in time the second I turn away. And if I happen to look over my shoulder every few seconds, well, nobody can blame me for worrying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be no Savitar in this AU. I'm considering him a punishment from the speedforce for Barry creating Flashpoint. Julian will still eventually show up, but he won't be Alchemy, just a jerk.


	12. Just a Fling

**BARRY**

I’m sprawled out on Len’s couch, head on his lap, watching Frozen with him and singing along to every song, much to his amusement. One of Len’s hands runs through my hair, the other drumming along to the beat on my ribcage. I don’t need to look away from his TV to know there’s a massive smile spreading across his face, so unlike his usual Captain Cold smirk. My own grin is kind of ridiculously large, with a kind of lightness I haven’t felt in a long time, especially impossible considering recent events.

If future me had dropped by this time last year and told me that this where I’d be spending my Saturday night after patrol, I’d break down in laughter. But this, right here, it feels right, safe, and a whole bunch of words I’d rather not think about. Len actually starts humming along when Let It Go starts, making me falter for a moment before continuing. I’m not surprised this is the one song he recognises for someone who hadn’t seen the movie before, but Captain Cold, Leonard Freaking Snart, is humming along to _this_ song, of all songs.

I can’t help the giggle when the song finishes. Len swats my side with his right hand and then just leaves it there, a stabilising pressure. I reach up with my left hand and tangle my fingers with his. I glance up to Len to see his smile wide as wide can be, eyes fixed ahead. I don’t blame him for not looking down. The last time he did, we had to rewind the movie by twenty minutes.

“The cold never bothered you anyway, huh?” Len teases.

“You know it.”

Len pauses the movie suddenly, his body stiffening.

“What’s-.” I start, but Len’s hand covers my mouth.

I look up to him with obvious concern. Len’s staring at his front door, jaw clenched and other hand reaching for … oh, the cold gun on the coffee table in front of me. I grab it for him and pass it over. Len smiles quick and sharp, before setting into a scowl and pointing his gun at the front door. I finally hear the twinge of a lock clicking as the door opens and two very familiar people stroll into Len’s apartment like they own the place.

Lisa Snart and Mick Rory. Boy, do they not look impressed, especially when they see the cold gun pointed at them. It takes a long moment for either of them to see me. Lisa’s first, her disdain changing into a somewhat knowing grin. Mick’s eyes flick from me to Len and he merely raises an eyebrow.

“We interrupting something?” he asks.

“Obviously,” Len retorts.

Lisa’s smile doesn’t falter as she steps inside, closes the door behind them and glances at the TV. “He’s getting you to watch Disney?”

“None of your business.”

“Lenny, it took me years to get you to watch just one movie with me and I’m your little sister.”

I open my mouth to say something. Len refuses to budge his hand.

“Don’t,” he warns.

I glance to the one hand holding me down and back to Len. He realises my plan, but is too slow to stop the Flash, even if I roll off his lap and couch to the floor at a normal speed. I leap to my feet.

“Len wanted to see the movie,” I blurt out. “Said he wanted the ammunition for taunts against the Flash.”

Len points the cold gun at me and charges it. I stick my tongue out. It’s not like he’ll correct the lie with the truth. He rolls his eyes and tosses the gun aside.

“You let this kid wrap you around his finger, Snart?” Mick questions, his glare less scary when he’s not wielding the heat gun.

“Wait a moment,” Lisa says, smile growing. “Is he the same one who kept visiting you in Iron Heights and showed up at Saints & Sinners?”

Mick frowns. “The CSI? The hell you doing getting domestic with a badge?”

“We’re not getting domestic,” Len grumbles. “Barry’s just some fling.”

I fold my arms. “Really? That’s what you’re going with? It’s already obvious that we’re in a relationship, Len. No need to understate it just because you can’t agree to a label.”

“And you’re alright with them knowing?”

“I’d tell the whole world that we’re dating if they wouldn’t question your motives every two seconds. We both know you’re better at this thing than I am.”

“That’s not true.”

“How many times have you comforted me or talked me down from doing something stupid? How many times have you risked your reputation to help me? How many times have you backed down from getting angry, just so we don’t fight?”

“I’m a criminal.”

“I don’t care! You’re a good man who got dealt shitty cards in life. You have more honour than half my colleagues. You may be a liar, a killer, and a thief, Leonard Snart, but you’re mine. I’m proud of that. Don’t you dare forget it.”

Mick whistles lowly. “Well, I’m convinced. The kid can stay.”

Lisa strides up to me and throws an arm around my shoulders. “No clue how you managed this one, Lenny, but you’d be an idiot to throw him away.”

Len sighs. “Want to finish the movie?”

I duck away from Lisa and practically tackle Len back onto his couch. Len automatically raises his arm, so I can cuddle against him. Mick drops into the armchair and puts his feet on the coffee table. Lisa sits next to me and hits play.

“I’m warning you now, I’m going to sing every song,” I say.

Lisa smirks. “Guess I know where Lenny’s recent obsession with certain high school show choir songs came from.”

“I still can’t believe he found those.”

“Well, our Lenny’s always been a tad obsessive.”

Len shakes his head. “We are trying to watch a movie here.”

Lisa mutters “Disney,” and giggles.

I grin. Guess certain people finding out isn’t too bad after all.

My phone buzzes right when the credits end. I read the message and sigh.

“That’s Eddie. Iris is trying to change the wedding’s entire colour scheme again, and he can’t get her to calm down. Best Man duties wait for nothing.”

Len catches my line of thought. “No. She’ll still be having her meltdown if you catch a cab.”

“We’re on the other side of the city. They’d just get more suspicious if I took that long.”

“Maybe if you had your own car-.”

“Just let him use your bike, Lenny,” Lisa says.

I grin. “It’ll be fine.”

“You’re only saying that because you don’t have to explain.”

“But you like explaining things.”

“Not that.”

I kiss Len. “See you tomorrow.”

“I’m robbing at least five banks for this.”

I laugh and leave in a blur of lightning before he can reach his cold gun. Mick and Lisa already know we’re together. Len should be fine explaining he’s dating the Flash as well as a badge. Plus, it’ll be nice to be completely open with more than just one person in my life, even if all three of those people shoot at me on a regular basis. Serves Len right for calling me some fling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Props to everyone who guessed that Mick, or Mick and Lisa, would find out first back when I asked in Chapter 5: Just a Favour. Who do you think the third will be?


	13. Just a Friend

**LEN**

I lean against the wall of the cortex, flicking the power settings on my cold gun back and forth. Barry catches me in the corner of his eye and shakes his head.

“Problem, Scarlet?”

“You realise you’re not actually being intimidating, right?”

I glance at Cisco and Snow. “I think your friends might have a different opinion.”

“We’re not scared of you, Cold,” Cisco says.

I smirk. “Keep thinking that, tech boy.”

West and his daughter finally arrive, the former scowling at me.

“What’s he doing here?” the detective asks.

“I asked for his help,” Barry says.

“And what’s Snart get out of it?”

“Nothing, Detective,” I say. “Barry didn’t offer a thing.”

Iris scoffs. “So you’re doing this out of the kindness of your heart?”

“Would you believe that I was simply bored, and this is something to fill my time between heists?”

Snow stiffens. “When you’re bored there’s usually kidnapping involved.”

“Still holding onto that? I thought we were past the getting to know you stage.”

“You threatened to blow me up!”

“You froze my brother’s hand!”

“Technicalities.”

Barry glares at me. “Quit riling them up.”

“You say that like I’m doing it on purpose, Scarlet. I’m hurt you think so lowly of me.”

He scoffs. “I know you’re doing it on purpose. Play nice.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll call your phone.”

“That’s not much of a threat, Scarlet.”

“We both know it is.”

“I’ve nothing to be embarrassed about,” I point out. “You on the other hand…”

“Didn’t spend hours combing the internet to get that song.”

“I’ll show them the others.”

“Go for it.”

“You first.”

Barry smiles and pulls out his phone. “Last chance, Snart.”

I switch my cold gun for my phone. “Here I was thinking I was the one who likes playing it slow.”

Snow clears her throat. “What exactly is happening?”

“And why’ve you got Cold’s number, Barry?” Cisco asks.

“Yes, Barry. Why do you have my number?”

Barry calls my phone. His cover of Smooth Criminal plays.

“Why’ve you got me singing as your ringtone?”

I let it play. “If the song fits… Plus, love the idea of the Flash singing my theme.”

Cisco and Snow’s jaws drop.

“Dude, this is you?”

“I knew you could sing, but…”

Iris stifles a laugh. “I thought those videos were lost.”

My phone stops ringing. “I’ve got copies of every single one.”

Barry smiles. “See, he’s not so scary if he spent so long tracking down high school show choir performances. He’s just a jerk.”

“I spent an entire day tracking down blackmail material, Barry.”

“And who could you threaten to show it to?”

I shrug. “Only the entire precinct. Or maybe your friends in Star City. I’m sure they’d all be fascinated with your little hidden talent. And don’t even get me started on the dancing.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me, Scarlet.”

West clears his throat. “You never answered, Barry. Why’ve you got Snart’s number?”

Everyone’s smiles drop, except mine.

“Why’s it matter?” I ask.

“It matters that you two are acting like you’re friends teasing each other or something when you’re enemies.”

Barry flinches. “We’re not-.”

“Damn right you’re not friends.”

I want to ice West’s smug smile, but Barry’s looking at me like a scared puppy.

I sigh. “We’re not enemies, haven’t been for a while. In case you haven’t noticed, I am here to help you goody-two-shoes out.”

West scoffs. “So, what, you two are friends?”

More than that. I’m still not sure how that happened.

Barry flashes next to me and leans his arm on my shoulder. I shake my head, but otherwise don’t move.

“Oh, no, you’ve discovered my dark secret,” I drawl. “This nuisance is slightly more bearable than others.”

Barry rolls his eyes. “Told you Len’s just a jerk.”

“Len?” Cisco repeats. “What happened to Snart or Cold or that bastard?”

“Now that’s just rude,” I say.

Barry grins. “Len told me to stop calling him Snart. That was before we were even friends yet.”

“You mean before you declared us friends.”

West balks. “You chose to be friends with this … this murderer?”

Barry’s grin falters. “You got over the Arrow when he saved me from the Rainbow Raider.”

“He stopped killing. He also doesn’t go around stealing things and terrorising the city.”

“No, he just terrorises,” I say.

Barry straightens and punches me lightly. “You’re not helping, Len.”

“Sorry, not a fan of vigilantes.”

“I’m a vigilante.”

“You’re a hero. Not a fan of those either.”

“I hate you sometimes.”

“You’re the one who declared us friends, kid. I didn’t get a choice in the matter.”

“Well, you agreed.”

“I did no such thing.”

“You didn’t disagree.”

“They’re not the same.”

“They so are.”

“You realise you sound like a child, right?”

“At least I’m not a liar.”

“I already told you that I’m a liar and a thief. Not my fault if you weren’t listening.”

“Would you two just stop it!” Snow stares Barry down until the speedster closes his mouth. “Good, now we can get back to the topic at hand.”

Iris nods. “Like telling us how the hell you ended up friends with Snart.”

“Don’t you start too, Iris,” West scolds. “They’re not friends. They’ve never been friends. And they will never be friends. I won’t allow it.”

Barry shakes his head. “You can’t tell me who I can and can’t be friends with, Joe. I’m not a kid anymore.”

I can both personally attest to that and argue it.

“You still live under my roof and-.”

“I pay board and for my food. It’s not like I’ve been inviting Len over. We’re always at his apartment.”

I raise an eyebrow for a split-second. Barry notices and checks to see if anyone noticed his minor slip up. Apparently, they’re all in too much shock to realise that we’re not just friends.

“You’ve been friends since December, haven’t you?” Iris asks, thankfully not correcting Barry.

It’s not like she knows about any other time I’ve invited myself to the West house.

“Scarlet officially declared us friends after Zoom broke his back,” I say.

“You visited him in prison?” Snow asks.

Barry shrugs. “I didn’t mean to at first. Len called in a dozen favours to check on me after that Zoom incident though.”

“You’re killing my reputation, Barry,” I mutter.

“You manage that fine on your own,” he retorts.

“Is this why he’s been helping us lately?” Cisco asks. “Because you’ve been fraternising with the enemy?”

Barry laughs. “You can’t be serious. Len repeatedly saves my life, checks up on me when I’m injured and helps us defeat Zoom, and he’s still the enemy?”

“He’s kidnapped your friends, Barry,” Snow points out.

“That was back when Reverse Flash was our biggest concern.”

“You can’t expect us to just forgive him,” Cisco says.

“I don’t. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t forgiven him. It doesn’t mean that I can’t be friends with him. It doesn’t mean it’s any of your business that I am. I’m allowed to have a life outside the Flash, even if that involves one of the Flash’s villains. Not that I’d call Len that lately. Our fights are gentler than training sessions with the Arrow.”

I frown. “Maybe I should meet him after all.”

Barry shakes his head vehemently. “No chance, Len. He doesn’t listen to reason once his angry.”

“No wonder you get along then.”

Barry pouts, like a bloody child. “Don’t be mean.”

I groan. “Like I said, kid, killing my reputation.”

West clears his throat. “I just don’t understand why you’d want to be friends with someone like Snart. He’s caused you nothing but pain.”

Barry scowls. “He’s also the one who convinced me to not screw up the timeline by going back and saving my mum. He was the only one who got that I wasn’t even slightly happy about Zoom dying. Len may be a killer, but he stopped me from becoming one when it came to my father’s murderer. So maybe you think I’m being ridiculous or naïve, but last time I checked, those are things I should count on my friends for.”

He’s never going to be able to tell them the truth. Barry doesn’t deserve that, doesn’t deserve this secret between us. I think I’m just selfish enough to keep it regardless.

West turns to me. “What’s your game here, Snart? Why’ve you got my boy defending you suddenly?”

“Detective, have you considered for one moment that there is no game? That we simply get along? That I’d readily protect Barry as I would my sister or partner?”

“I know you, Snart. We all do. So don’t think for a moment that you’re fooling any of us.”

“No,” Barry practically growls. “You don’t know him. You know his file. You know him as Captain Cold, the persona he puts on when we fight. You think you know Len, but you only know Cold. And you never will unless he lets you. Or did you really think that someone who grew up with Lewis Snart for a father would be open with people who won’t give him a chance to prove their expectations wrong?”

“Well, I believe them.” Everyone stares at Iris. “What? I believe that they’re friends. I don’t think they should be. In fact, I think Snart’s just gearing up to betray and hurt Barry again, but there’s no point in denying that they’re clearly friends.

“I don’t accept this,” West says.

Barry folds his arms. “Fine, don’t, but don’t think you’re going to change my mind either.”

“I refuse to work with him.”

“Then leave.” Barry takes in everyone’s shock, hesitating on my open reaction. “I think we need Len’s help with this particular meta. If anyone here doesn’t think they can work with him for this mission, then they don’t have to. I’m not going to force you to work with anyone you’re uncomfortable with. So if you’ve got such a big problem with Len, then leave. I’m not stopping you.”

“Scarlet-.”

“No, Len. I told you before. I’m tired of having every one of my decisions since the lightning judged.”

“Yes, for outside Flash business, but this,” I gesture to his frozen team, “this is something they should have a vote on. You’re not me, Scarlet. You don’t call all the shots for your team. If I’m so unwelcome here, then I’ll go. And if you need me to cover your red-clad backside, I’ll show up. Don’t let me be the reason you lose their trust.”

Barry turns to me properly. “I don’t want to stop-.”

“I know, kid.”

“Wish you would stop calling me that.”

I ruffle his hair. “Not going to happen.”

He swats my hand. “You cooking tonight?”

“Yeah. See you later, Scarlet.”

“Bye, Len.”

The second I leave the cortex, it erupts in shouts.

“You’re having dinner with him?”

“What the hell, man?”

“I forbid you to go over!”

“Snart cooks?”

That last one was Iris. Suppose I’ll have to send her some of my cookies. I bet that’s one skill she didn’t think I had her beat on. At least now Barry will be able to deal with this meta problem without having them second-guess his judgement. If they were my rogues… Well, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be so happy with my relationship with the Flash either. I somehow doubt they’d be surprised though. Mick and Lisa certainly weren’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now Barry doesn't have to censor himself and call him Snart all the time.


	14. Just a Convenience

**BARRY**

“My baby girl is married, Barr, married!” Joe yells for the fiftieth time tonight.

“Wow, that’s great, Joe.” I try to guide him back to his bedroom. “C’mon, it’s about time you got some sleep.”

He shakes his head. “I gotta congratulate her and Eddie again.”

“They’ll still be there in the morning, er, later this morning. Their flight isn’t until the afternoon, remember?”

“Right, right, but I haven’t said it yet. I can’t not do it on the day.”

I turn him around. “You’ve already done it, Joe, a few times now. I’m sure you’ll remember after you go to bed.”

Joe laughs. “You’ll be next, Barr. I know you don’t have anyone yet, but my son’s too good not to attract someone soon enough.”

I consider correcting him, but I’m not risking him remembering.

“Thanks, Joe. You know I’ll feel better if you get some sleep, right?”

He pats my back. “Yeah, yeah, want the old man to go to bed, so you can get back to the party.”

“The reception ended over an hour ago. I’m going to bed right after you get to sleep.”

Joe finally climbs under his covers. “But will you be here? Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you haven’t been staying here most nights lately.”

“I uh sleep better at my friend’s place. He’s pretty good at calming me down from the random bad dreams.”

Joe frowns. “You know I’d be more than happy to-.”

“He doesn’t have to get up early for work, mostly works at night. I don’t have to worry about me interfering with his sleep schedule.”

“And you’re going to go there tonight?”

“If you’re feeling sick, I’ll be more than happy to stay, Joe.”

“I raised two kids, Barr. I can look after myself.” Joe eyes me way too suspiciously for someone who’s had as much champagne as he has. “This friend, wouldn’t be a certain cold gun wielding criminal that you’ve got an abnormal soft spot for, would he?”

I sigh. “What, you going to scold me for exposing myself to being attacked in my sleep?”

Joe shakes his head. “I’m never going to understand what you see in that man, Barr, but my baby girl just got married. You’re just as much of an adult as she is. If you want to make your own stupid ass decisions, then I’m not going to stop you. Just don’t expect me to hold back on the I told you so.”

“And when it turns out I’ve been right all along?”

“You’ve proven some pretty impossible things in the past, but this, this is just nonsense.”

I clench my fists. “Go to sleep, Joe. I’ll see you at the airport for Iris and Eddie’s farewell.”

I flash away before he can so much as blink.

*

Len lifts his head up while reading on his couch and rests back on my leg in one smooth movement. I throw my head back and breathe deeply. Len finishes the chapter and snaps his book shut. He places it on the coffee table and looks up at me expectedly.

“The wedding was great.”

“Then why do you look like you want to punch something?”

I shrug. “Joe got pretty wasted.”

“So?”

“So he said I can make my own stupid ass decisions and be friends with you, but he still thinks you’re going to betray me at any moment. And to think, I almost just told him the truth when he started saying I’m going to get married next.”

Len smirks. “Thinking of marriage already, Scarlet?”

I swat his arm. “Being around a wedding obsessed family doesn’t make me suddenly want to fit a bunch of acquaintances and strangers into a room and hope they don’t kill each other. I go through that enough working with Rogues and heroes.”

“I thought the wedding went well.”

“It did, but I’m not Iris, and I’d rather only having Mick and Lisa knowing about us if they’re the only ones who can accept it.”

Len frowns. “Think West is still going to be passive aggressive about us even being friends when he sobers?”

“I’m pretty sure the only reason he was passive about it tonight was because he was too tired to start another argument.”

“You know you wouldn’t have to put up with all that if you just moved in. You already spend practically every night here, and West can hardly lord it over you that you’ve got to follow his rules if you’re not living under his roof.” Len looks away. “I even live closer to Star Labs, so you’d get there faster in an emergency. It’s just more convenient.”

I smile. “You’ve been thinking about this for a while, haven’t you?”

“Mick might have thought you already lived here, and when I told him otherwise, he called us both idiots and stole my beer.”

“So they don’t mind that I’m the Flash?”

Len laughs. “Lisa was planning to have a talk with me to stop flirting with the Flash because it wasn’t right by you. Neither of them was even surprised.”

“If we do this, I’m guessing it’ll mean that I can’t have my friends over, and I’ll have to make my address confidential on my work forms and other things.”

Len’s smile drops. “I didn’t mean to stop you from living your life, Barry. I just figured you seemed happier when you stay here the night.”

I lean down and kiss him. “Well, if anyone wants to know where I live, they better start accepting that I’m not about to stop being friends with Leonard Snart.”

“They’re going to lose their minds when they figure out we’re dating.”

“By the time they put two and two together, you’ll have settled on an actual label.”

Len shakes his head. “I don’t understand your obsession with needing one.”

“I have superspeed, Len. I’m the most impatient man alive. I’d rather just have one word to call the guy that I’m dating.”

“But you already have one word, Scarlet. I’ll give you a clue. It starts with L and ends with en.”

I stand up, letting his head fall back. “You know what I mean.”

“Not my fault nothing sounds right.”

“Well, how about the guy I’m dating and happen to live with?”

Len smiles. “We’ll move you in tomorrow.”

“I could just do it all now before you even make it to the bedroom.”

“Just because you can do it faster, doesn’t mean it’s less effort.” Len stretches. “Plus, I want all your stuff to suddenly be gone while West’s at work.”

“I have work then too.”

“You pack; I move the boxes.” Len stands up and holds out his hand. “What do you say, Flash? Have we got a deal?”

I grin and shake his hand. “Sure thing, Cold.”

*

I’m pretty sure Joe stops breathing for at least five seconds when I tell him I’ve moved out and have no intention of telling him where to.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“The wedding just got me thinking that maybe it’s time I lived on my own again. I’ve found a place closer to Star Labs that fits me better. It’s not like I hated living with you or anything. It was great. I’ve just grown out of it. I’ll still come around for Saturday Night Family Dinner and to catch up, but I won’t be living in your pocket anymore.”

Joe blinks a few times. “Are you sure you’re my Barr? You haven’t been hit by Bivolo again or anything, right?”

“I’m going to tell Cisco and Caitlin, maybe give you time to process the news.”

*

It takes three favours owed to Felicity to stop Cisco and Oliver from tracking down my address. Again, I’m tempted to at least tell the hacker the truth, but she’d be obligated to tell Ollie, and I’d rather not have an Arrow versus Captain Cold showdown. Caitlin insists on running at least ten different tests before she lets me go home. Huh. Home. My home, where I live with Leonard Freaking Snart. This is kind of unreal. Then again, I got struck by lightning and instead of dying, got superpowers. Unreal’s my jam.

*

“Len!” I call.

He trudges into the kitchen. “What?”

I hold up _my_ reindeer mug. “Did you ever plan on returning this?”

“That’s my mug.”

“No, it’s mine. You stole it last Christmas.”

“And you stole a kiss. Even’s even.”

“That was after you stole my favourite mug!”

“Well, you’ve got it back now, don’t you?”

“I guess.”

Len looks from me to the mug. “You sure you’re okay with moving in?”

“I don’t know. At my last place, I had this really good-looking guy sneak into my room through my window like a complete dork because he was incapable of using the door.”

Len steps forward. “Really, because I remember this giant kid who kept marshmallows in his bedside table.”

“You know I kept mini ones there after that night?”

“And why would you do that for?”

“Because I thought you’d come back if I did. Then you did, just decided to lie on my bed like you belonged there.”

“Well, we both know that’s true.” He smirks. “Shame about the marshmallows though. West’s kitchen was optimal for making cocoa.”

“Wanna sneak back over there and make some?”

Len grabs me by the hips and pulls me close. “Someone’s been a bad influence on you lately.”

I grin. “Guess you better fix that.”

My home’s been Len for a while now, only right that it’s official.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's face it. Without Caitlin's special concoction, Barry is the default responsible adult when people are drinking.


	15. Just a Pardon

**LEN**

When I get home, Barry’s speed cleaning. He sees me, yelps, and crashes into the couch, sprawling into what I can only assume he means to be a pose of nonchalance, but the wide eyes kind of ruins it. I raise an eyebrow and go through my normal routine, smirking whenever I catch him watching me with apprehension. This is why I’d never bother trying to turn the Flash into a criminal. Sure, there’s the whole not changing my Scarlet thing, but when it comes down to it, Barry Allen is terrible with any sort of guilt. Sometimes it’s worrying how much he blames himself for, but sometimes it’s like this where he’ll act like a kid who hasn’t done his homework.

I finally shrug my parka off and stand in front of him, arms crossed.

“What is it, Scarlet?”

He scratches the back of his head. “Imight’vegottenyoupardonedforkillingLewis.”

“What?”

“AndnowthemayorwantstoholdaceremonyattheCCPD.”

I sit down, shoving Barry’s legs aside. “The mayor wants me to go to the CCPD, so I can, what? Accept my official pardoning for icing daddy dearest?”

“Yep.”

“And how many favours did you pull as a CSI for this?”

“None.”

“None?”

“I vouched for you as the Flash.”

“You-.” I shake my head. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Barry shrugs. “Without your help, who knows how many more people Zoom could’ve killed. How many more people could’ve lost their fathers? I… I know you’re a good person, and even if you keep up with your heists and Rogues, I think you deserve recognition for what you’ve done for this city. It was easy enough to convince a closed court and the mayor that you were under heavy duress from Lewis, and your record before that is already non-existent. As far as the CCPD is concerned, you’re completely pardoned. If I manage to catch you and let you be arrested for one of your heists, that’d change, but you won’t be up for murder. You’re no longer a wanted man, just highly suspected.”

“I l-. I don’t know how I could ever repay you for this, for risking your reputation as the Flash for me.”

“This isn’t about owing each other, Len. You’re mine. I’d do anything in my power, preferably legally, to make your life easier. Plus, there are benefits for me too. I can finally take this guy I’m dating out on an actual date in our own city.”

“You’re not worried that someone you know could see us?”

Barry scoffs. “As if they’d ever believe we were even in a relationship. I swear Cisco could walk in on us making out and he still wouldn’t get it. They won’t see what they don’t want to see. It’s how heroes get away with wearing flimsy masks. Not many people actually prefer knowing who their protectors are. The anonymity creates a sense of invulnerability, even if people know rationally that we’re not invincible.”

“That’s your excuse for not properly caring about your secret identity then?”  
“I do care about that, Len. If the wrong people found out that I was the Flash, then the people I love would be in danger.”

I don’t say anything about once being in the first category. I can’t let Barry say anything about that second category, not yet. I’m not ready. It’s stupid and, according to Lisa, so obviously mutual that Team Flash must all be blind and deaf to not recognise it, but months of being together doesn’t make it any easier. And right now, I’d rather deal with the fact that Barry Allen used his influence as the Flash to get me pardoned, regardless of the backlash that’ll come from the public and his team.

I kiss Barry to try and get the point across anyway. “When is this ceremony anyway?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“It’s 2am.”

“Oh, later this morning then.”

I sigh. “We better get some sleep then.”

“Are we going to arrive together?”

“How else was I meant to find out about this thing?”

“Oh, right.”

I shake my head and drag Barry to bed. For someone with so much extra time, it can’t be that difficult to think things through properly. If that actually happened, crime in Central might actually stop. Good thing my Scarlet doesn’t use his powers to their full potential then.

*

I make a point of wearing my full Captain Cold outfit, cold gun and all to the ceremony. Barry’s fond exasperation is obvious behind his Flash mask. Well, it is to me at least. I’m pretty sure everyone here is too in shock to notice. Apparently, the announcement two hours before the ceremony wasn’t enough to convince Central City that the CCPD wasn’t in fact kidding. I’m holding my official pardon and everything.

Captain Singh shakes my hand. “Thank you for your contribution to Central City, Snart.”

I look at Barry one last time to make sure it’s real. He gives me a bright grin.

“Well, I wasn’t about to let another speedster trapeze around my city like he owns the place,” I say.

Singh doesn’t seem surprised by that, just clenches his jaw and keeps smiling for the cameras.

Barry doesn’t miss the chance to say something inspiring about anyone having the capacity for change. I can’t say I pay much attention to his words. I’m a little preoccupied by the protesters who’ve managed to break through the crowd.

“How could you pardon a murderer?” someone shouts.

“You’re no hero!”

To Barry’s credit, he doesn’t panic, or flinch, or anything. He waits for them to stop yelling and speaks. “Leonard Snart was instrumental in subduing Zoom and the continued fight against him before that point. He may have done it for his own reasons, but that doesn’t change the fact that his actions saved innocent lives. I’m not calling him a hero. I doubt he’ll ever be one, not of his own will. But I am grateful, and I won’t stand for him paying for an incident that was largely out of his control. Everyone deserves justice, not just the people we like.”

The protestors look between each other for all of ten seconds before yelling again. Barry sighs. Singh calls for order, but nobody quiets down this time.

He turns to me, as if it physically hurts him. “You better leave, Snart.”

“See you around, Captain.”

I move to saunter away, I really do, but my next step is inside Star Lab’s cortex. Iris and her detective appear to be back from their honeymoon. At least, I guess they are considering they’re among the crowd staring at the monitors displaying news coverage of the ceremony. Nobody seems to notice that Barry and I just arrived. That or they’re in shock.

“I take it you didn’t tell them ahead of time, Scarlet.”

Barry shrugs, pulling his cowl back. “It might’ve slipped my mind.”

Thawne turns around first. He looks between us and opens his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by his partner.

“Snart!” West growls. “This was all you. You made another deal with Barry, knowing he couldn’t refuse the help, and now, now you get to walk around a free man. You used Barry. I knew it.”

“He only told me about it this morning. I didn’t actually have a choice in the matter, Detective.”

Barry folds his arms. “That’s not entirely true. You did mention it over pancakes a little while ago.”

“That was a joke, Scarlet. It was obvious that I was joking. I never thought you’d actually remember it after months, let alone do it.”

Again, Thawne goes to say something. Again, someone cuts him off. Snow this time.

“Why didn’t you tell us about this, Barry? We’re your team.”

“Because it’s easier to do something you wouldn’t approve of, then to directly go against something you’ve asked me not to do.”

“I’ve asked you to stop being so carelessly forgiving when it comes to Leonard Snart time and time again, and yet that never stopped you.”

“I’m not being careless!”

Cisco rolls his eyes. “No, just handing out pardons to criminals.”

“He didn’t hand anything to me, actually. I believe that was the Police Captain.” I smirk. “And in any case, Barry went through the proper channels to get me my pardon, even if he did that as a costumed hero. A jury pardoned me, a jury I didn’t even know existed, so I definitely couldn’t have pressured them in any way.”

“I don’t think it was a case of the Flash testifying either,” Thawne says quietly. “You all saw the protestors. The city’s reaction has nothing to do with the validity of the judgement, more that a pardon was even considered in the first place.”

“Why even bother?” Iris asks. “Snart’s going to get himself charged with something before the year’s even finished. Or are you just going to stop trying to catch him?”

“If you’re even trying at all,” Cisco mutters.

That sets West on another rant that I tune out.

“I’m going to go celebrate with Mick and Lisa,” I whisper to Barry. “You coming?”

“How likely is a drunk Mick going to spill my secret?”

“About as likely as any of your friends drunk.”

Barry glances at Snow. “So extremely, but nobody will believe it anyway.” He sighs. “Only if you stay at least half-sober too. I don’t want to be the only one thinking clearly.”

“Not going to ask Snow for her special speedster concoction?”

“Like she’d let me get drunk with a bunch of Rogues.”

“Shame. Could’ve been fun.”

“It’d be a disaster.”

“That’s what I said.”

Barry shakes his head, smiling. “Let’s go before they realise I’m not paying attention.”

I don’t mention the fact that Thawne has been watching our exchange the whole time. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t figured anything out, but I should probably avoid standing so close to Scarlet around the CCPD’s one decent detective from now on. He doesn’t have the obliviousness of the rest of Barry’s friends. That’s for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Eddie spent more time around the both of them together, I have no doubt that he would know about Barry and Len by now.


	16. Just a Phrase

**BARRY**

To say that everyone at the CCPD is angry would be an understatement. It’d be like calling Oliver an archery enthusiast, or Kara kind of strong, or Len a shoplifter. The building has had protestors right outside the front door for the past two weeks straight. And that means all the detectives, and the beat cops, pretty much everyone outside of the CSI department is letting their anger get to them, which means evidence is being tampered with before a CSI can get on the scene, reports are being lost, and my workload has tripled. There are still almost two months until that meta-human specialist CSI starts.

Joe has thankfully put the whole Len friend thing behind us for now, probably thinking this is punishment enough for me doing the right thing. It’s not like Len’s been flaunting his freedom that much. He hasn’t even gone out as Captain Cold since the pardon. I think that might have something to do with the fact that he knows the Flash doesn’t have time to go out and face him between the actual mountains of paperwork and tests I need to get through plus the standard Flash patrol. I’m just glad it’s been quiet on the meta front. And I really, really, hope I didn’t just jinx it.

“Hey, Barr, have you got the results on-.”

I hand Eddie the folder and move onto the next one.

“Thanks.” Eddie stops at the door. “You know, if you need a break, you can always see if someone else can take some of these.”

“It’s fine. I’ll take a break at lunch.”

“Your lunchbreak was three hours ago.”

I glance at the time. “Oh. I’ll be sure to eat something soon.”

“You okay, Barry?”

I nod, not looking up at Eddie. “Tell the Captain that I’ll have that report he wanted on his desk before the end of the day.”

“That doesn’t really answer his question, Scarlet.”

I look up. Len’s leaning against the doorframe, grinning.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

Len shrugs, strolling inside. “Wanted to see this super busy friend of mine. Figured I’d cause some chaos on my way up. Completely incidental by the way. Only five cops tried to arrest me when I walked in.”

Eddie sighs. “I better make sure Joe doesn’t convince them to start shooting. Make sure he eats something.”

“Thanks, Eddie,” Len says.

The detective rolls his eyes and walks out, closing the door behind him.

I shake my head. “Since when have you been on a first name basis with him?”

“Ten seconds ago.”

I return to my work. “And what made you decide to waltz into the CCPD?”

“Like I said, Scarlet, I wanted to see you.”

“You saw me this morning.”

“I saw you annihilate breakfast for all of two seconds before coming here.”

“Well, I’ve got a lot to do, Len, and someone forbade me from using my powers at work.”

“Barry, I seriously doubt you’re incapable of doing your job without your powers.”

“No, but it’d be easier.”

“Barry.”

“Len.”

“Why haven’t you eaten yet?”

“Because someone killed a kid on Monday and if I can’t pull enough from the evidence that wasn’t ruined by careless first responders, then they’ll be getting away with it. I’ve only got until the end of today, and I keep being given different cases to work on because this one has already been ruled as hopeless.”

“You eat a sandwich, and I’ll sit by the door. Anyone wants to come to you for anything non-urgent, they’ll get to walk past me first.”

I shake my head. “Thanks for the offer, Len, really, but someone’s bound to use that as an excuse to charge you for obstruction.”

“You eating a sandwich is obstruction of justice?”

“I can’t take a break right now. I swear I’ll eat something once I’m done this, but-.”

“You could pass out from hypoglycaemia by then and you know it.”

I wave it off. “That’s only really a problem when I’ve been using my powers.”

“Barry, downstairs is in chaos right now. Trust me, nobody is doing any work at this moment. You can afford the two minutes it’d take you to eat lunch at a normal pace.”

I try to focus on the screen, and wince at my eyes blurring a little.

“Fine.”

Len smiles. “You won’t have to worry with anyone giving you too much work today in any case. I left quite a lot of badges with their mouths hanging open when I said I was here to see my friend Barry Allen.”

I groan, while unwrapping my lunch and sitting across from him. “Joe only just stopped giving me grief over you. Seems to think drowning in work balances things out.”

“Nobody will be treating you badly over me showing up. I had to calmly explain to several angry officers that I’m not arrogant enough to think I could bribe, blackmail, or otherwise influence you on cases. Plus, Singh kindly pointed out that you filed a Letter of Association months ago and aren’t permitted to work on my cases anyway. Apparently, when your boss is okay with something, cops tend to stand down. I thought about trying to shake his hand again, but I didn’t want to push it.”

Wait a moment. I speed through the rest of my lunch and cross-reference the data from this case with other active ones in the area from the past month. There’s a match. Great. I’ll send this through to the cases’ respective lead detectives, along with a copy of the other’s incident reports. The new development should keep the case open until at least the new week, which could be all it needs to be solved. I absentmindedly grab the next file and start reading through it.

“This is why I love you, Barry.”

I look up at Len, who’s eyes are wide like he didn’t mean to say that aloud or thought I wouldn’t hear.

I grin. “I love you too.”

Len stands up, somehow manages to trip over himself, and is definitely blushing.

“Well, now that that’s cleared up, I’ll just go back to tormenting Central City’s finest.”

“Not so smooth now.”

Len smirks over his shoulder. “I’ll always be cool as ice, Scarlet.”

“Maybe I’ll believe you when you’re not impersonating Mick’s gun.”

Len adamantly doesn’t look back on his way out. I speed between him and the door and kiss him. Len eventually draws away and drops his head on my shoulder. I wrap one arm around his waist and rest my other hand on the back of his neck.

“We okay?” I mumble.

Len sighs. “Yeah, just wasn’t expecting to say it first.”

“You know that’s not a bad thing, right?”

“Then why didn’t you?”

I shrug. “I tend to be all or nothing. Didn’t want to scare you off.”

“Never going to happen.” Len pulls back and rests his forehead against mine. “What are you going to do when they find out?”

“Tell the truth. I love you and that’s not going to change because they disapprove.”

“Come again.”

I kiss him lightly. “I love you, Len.”

“I might be okay with hearing that a few more times.”

I laugh. “Well, take me out to dinner tonight and you just might.”

“I’ll make reservations for eight. Be ready by seven.”

“I won’t run that late.”

Len steps past me, hand on the door. “I do happen to know you quite well, Barry. Your tardiness is the bane of my existence.” He ducks his head. “But I love you anyway.”

I don’t care what it takes. I’m going to make sure that man doesn’t have to doubt my reaction to that phrase. I’ve just got to finish these cases first. Singh can hardly get mad at me for Len showing up if I get through everything, right? Plus, he’s not technically a wanted man anymore. And he won’t actually try something while here. There are way too many witnesses. Somehow, I doubt that excuse would work on the Captain, or Joe, or anyone in Team Flash. Maybe Eddie would believe me, but Len warned me against talking to the detective about Len. It’s not like he even knows yet. There’s no-.

My phone buzzes. Huh. What’s Felicity want?

_‘Oliver saw the social media explosion from Leonard Snart walking into the CCPD. He took some gear and his bike.’_

Oh. Oh no. I might end up late to that date anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took them 7 chapters, 7, to admit what they knew they felt, because neither wanted to say it first. I’m aware that I wrote the fic, and don’t really have room to complain, but that’s beside the point.


	17. Just a Disagreement

**LEN**

Barry’s late. Even with the buffer time, he’s late. He can’t even claim to be caught up with work because he already texted me when he left the precinct … on time. There haven’t been any sightings of the Flash in the past two hours. He would’ve told me if there were some Flash emergency, especially after our week long argument about whether I’d use that information to my advantage. For some reason beyond me, Barry didn’t understand that I just want to know when he’s in trouble. He’s been fine with it for months, so why would there be a change now?

I grimace at the waitress and finally leave. One step out of the restaurant and an actual arrow whistles through their air towards my heart. Familiar static arrives and I appear in an alley with a panting Flash. I fold my arms and wait for the doubled-over speedster to catch his breath.

“Odd to see you tired, Flash.”

Barry holds up his hand and finally straightens. “Arrow’s in town. He’s a little upset.”

“At me?”

“Sort of. Mainly at me though. The pardon on top of your visit to the CCPD this afternoon is apparently enough to warrant shooting at you for the past hour straight.”

“As far as excuses go, that’s okay, I suppose.”

Barry’s jaw drops. “Only okay?”

“What happened to your buffer time?”

“I had to find him first. For a guy on a bike, he sure can get from Star to Central quickly. I wasted a little time scouring the best routes. Once I finally found O- Arrow he was lounging in the cortex, chatting with my team. They’re the ones that distracted me long enough for him to get changed and start hunting you.”

I consider asking him to go via home and grab my cold gun, but I’m not that careless with his identity.

“How’d he know where I was?”

“Contact at the CCPD tagged you.”

“Who…” I sigh. “West.”

Barry scans the area, conveniently avoiding eye contact. “Arrow will be here soon. Have you been h-?”

“Anywhere important? No. These are the same clothes I wore to the precinct.”

“The tracker will be on your jacket.”

I frown and shrug out of it. “Suppose you want to cover me while I find it?”

“If I use my speed on the jacket, it’ll catch on fire. “

“A yes would do, Scarlet.”

Barry doesn’t answer, too busy catching the volley of arrows.

The vigilante drops from a roof. Barry tackles him mid-air and stops a knife from going for my throat. I run my fingers along the collar of my jacket. Nothing there.

“Snart hasn’t done anything to deserve this, Arrow!”

“He’s a criminal. If you won’t put your villains in Iron Heights, I’ll do it for you.”

Tracker’s not on the sleeves.

Barry catches an arrow two inches from my face. He definitely speed kisses me. I only notice because I’m used to the sensation. Arrow has no clue what just happened, but he does frown. That’s probably because he can’t figure out what has me smirking. I certainly haven’t found the tracker yet.

Barry snaps the arrow in half. “I don’t want to fight you.”

“Then stop befriending Central’s worst criminals.”

“Technically, Snart is completely pardoned.”

“Because of you! Other lifelong criminals like Snart are going to see this weak point of yours, Flash, and they’re going to think they can get away with whatever they want so long as they’re friendly with you.”

I rip the tracker from my jacket zipper, which I am not going to question how West got it there, and pass it to Barry.

“You’re wrong,” I say, not bothering to look at the archer. Instead, I watch Barry phase a finger through our date’s destroyer, a tiny tracking device. “Everyone knows that I know the Flash’s real name, yet nobody’s moved to threaten me. It’s hardly going to make a difference now that Scarlet’s doing me favours. We’re kind of known to do that sort of thing. It’s okay if you didn’t know about our public ‘sometimes ally sometimes nemesis’ status. Only the entire city is aware of it. I can hardly fault you for riding out here over one little social media explosion earlier today. You couldn’t possibly have known that there’s no problem to be solved here by vigilantes with anger issues.”

Arrow grips his bow tighter. “Snart’s just us-.”

“Don’t finish that sentence!” Barry snaps. “I am sick and tired of people saying that he’s using me. I know how it looks. I’ve been played before by someone I trusted, multiple times, but Snart, Snart and I play a game of equals. He’s not taking advantage of me, and I’m not taking advantage of him. He helps me out sometimes, and I help him out sometimes. He still does his heists, and I still try to stop him. Nothing about how we live our lives has changed. We just happen to be more amicable that before.”

More accurately, we just happen to live together and love each other. The latter of which I definitely mentioned offhandedly after Barry made it into a big thing. At least, that’s what I told Lisa and Mick.

“You’re going to lose the respect of your city, Barry.”

I scowl. “Why are you lot so bad at secret identities?”

Arrow glares at me. “We’re alone.”

“We’re in a city of metas. You can’t possibly know if we’re truly alone or not.”

Barry turns on me. “That’s the same excuse you use for me not being allowed to use my powers at work.”

“It’s not an excuse, Scarlet. It’s a valid reason that makes logical sense. I thought someone of your intelligence would understand that kind of concept, but clearly I’m overestimating your talents once again.”

“I could definitely eat twenty pizzas in one sitting this time, especially after all that running. Someone messed with my dinner plans.”

I watch Arrow connect the dots, though I doubt he’s gotten them all.

“You’re really friends with Snart?”

Yup, failing to see the whole picture yet again. And to think, Barry’s friends catch criminals but are apparently blind.

Barry rolls his eyes. “If you want to continue your rant on the subject, please take a number. I’m afraid the waiting time for that line is at least another month. You see, I’m quite sick of listening to complaints.” He folds his arms. “If I find out about one more tracker on Leonard Snart, or even Lisa Snart or Mick Rory, I will be dyeing your suit red, swapping out all your arrows for foam versions, and encouraging freelance journalists in Star City to take up Arrow stalking. You don’t mess with my city, and I won’t mess with yours.”

Did I mention that I love Barry Allen? Even when he’s threatening someone, he still stays intrinsically good. I’m not stupid enough to think that’s because of nativity or lack of experience. Scarlet’s seen the worst the world has to offer, yet he still looks for the good. How could I not be attracted to that?  

I’m not sure when Arrow leaves. I’m too busy ordering pizzas while Barry delivers me to my bike. The pizza guy can’t even tell the difference between a Flash whoosh and a motorbike whoosh, or he just doesn’t care. Sadly, only Eddie out of all of Barry’s friends seems to have that attitude towards us. Sad because he’s definitely closest to that full picture, not that I’d let anyone find out until Barry’s ready. Scarlet may say he’s fine with it, but I’m going to need something a little more concrete than verbal confirmation as evidence. Not wincing when Eddie gets close to the mark might be a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There may be two more chapters left of Exceptions, but the second part of Ignoring the Hero Handbook has an undecided amount of chapters, so the story's not close to over yet.


	18. Just a Ring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the unannounced delay. I strained my wrists/elbows pretty badly on a uni assignment a few weeks ago and technically still haven't recovered. The majority of this chapter has been written since before then, but I've only just decided to type through the pain and finish it. Helps that I'm done with the semester and my one exam now, so there's no need to take it easy for uni's sake.

**BARRY**

My weekly reminder text from Captain Singh arrives while I’m sitting in bed with Len. I put my phone away and rest against the headboard.

“He really thinks I’m going to forget when the new CSI arrives.”

Len raises an eyebrow. “If I were him, I’d be sending you daily reminders. You still haven’t cleared the space in your lab.”

“I have a month.”

“It’d take you two minutes, Barry, if that.”

“I keep the apartment clean, so you can’t complain about my lab.”

Len frowns. “I keep the apartment clean. You pretend to clean, but actually speed around the place, making an even bigger mess.”

“I’m still less messy here than in my lab.” I groan. “Can’t believe I’ll have to share my space. I like talking freely there.”

Len mutters something about rubbish and identities, before grinning like a cat.

“So this new meta-human specialist, would his duties encompass all the Rogues’ crime scenes, considering quite a few of us happen to be metas, or just the ones involving said metas?”

“I’m not answering that question, Len.”

“C’mon, Scarlet, give me a hint here. I am your … uh … favourite after all.”

“You’re my favourite now? My favourite what exactly?”

He frowns. “You’re going to make me think of something, aren’t you?”

“Well, you keep rejecting all my suggestions.”

“That’s because they’re terrible.”

“And you did want to convince me, so what will it be? Give up on trying to get police intel from me or agree to a label.”

Len lies back against the headboard. “You _know_ I can’t think of anything that sounds right.”

“See, that’s just getting to be an annoying problem now. What are we meant to call this? You won’t accept boyfriends because ‘we’re not teenagers, Scarlet.’ That guy I’m dating is just a mouthful. Mick’s your partner and not in the same meaning. Apparently, significant other just isn’t good enough. Mine is good for when we’re feeling possessive, but if we say it too much, we start sounding like a bunch of overeager seagulls. And our relationship sounds downright clinical.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You see, Len, I happen to love you a lot, like can’t imagine my life without you kind of love. I’m proud of that and don’t give a damn what anyone has to say about it. And frankly, I think it’d just make things simpler if I called you husband.”

“Are you-? Was that a proposal? Are you proposing?”

“Well, I thought about offering you an engagement ring, but you’re not a jewellery kind of guy unless you’re stealing and selling it. So that means just the matching rings. And I know you’re a control freak who would actually ice me if I tried choosing the ring design without your input, so yeah. This is it. Wanna marry me?”

Len face palms. “Why do I love this idiot?” he mutters.

“That wasn’t a no.”

He slowly drags his hand away. “You know what, Barry? I’m done with you reading between the lines.”

I swallow heavily. “So…?”

“Yes, I’ll marry you, you complete and utter unromantic idiot.”

I fold my arms and try to act insulted, but the impossibly wide grin kind of ruins it.

Len shakes his head and pulls me close for a kiss.

Twenty minutes later, Len rests his head on my shoulder and narrows his eyes. “Barry?”

“Yes, Len?”

“Did you just deflect the conversation by proposing?”

I smile. “Maybe.”

He blinks at me sleepily and shakes his head. “I don’t suppose being your fiancé will get me the information I want, will it?”

“You know me so well.”

“If someone catches us ring shopping tomorrow, you get to change the topic before they can put one and one together.”

That wakes me up a little. “We’re going shopping tomorrow?”

“We’re getting custom made rings, Scarlet. I’ll settle on the design in the morning while you make breakfast.”

“But it’s your turn to cook.”

“You propose, you cook. I don’t make the rules, Scarlet. I just follow them whenever they suit me.”

*

Len hides his sketch the second I put the plates down.

“Eat first, look later, Scarlet.”

I definitely don’t pout. “ _Len_ , I am literally the most impatient man alive. You can’t just do this to me.”

“And I’m literally a criminal. I do whatever I want.”

“I could look before you even blink.”

Len shrugs. “You could, but you won’t.”

I slump into my chair. “I might.”

“Sure, Barry. You might choose to do something besides eat breakfast first.”

“I could speed eat and not wait for you.”

“You could.”

I stab into my waffles. “But I won’t.”

Len smirks. “Exactly.”

I swear Len purposely eats slowly, but I’m also pretty sure this is the first time I’ve been so focussed on how long it takes him to eat. He glances up at me after every bite though, so I’m probably not exaggerating. It takes a gruelling ten minutes for him to finish his breakfast.

He yawns. “Guess I’ll just take care of the dishes and-.”

I speed through washing up and bounce from foot to foot in front of him.

Len laughs and pulls out his sketchbook, painstakingly flipping through designs of cold gun upgrades, cold grenades, and the like until he finally gets to a pair of rings. I snatch the book and throw myself into my chair, ignoring Len’s giant smirk. I don’t know what I was expecting. He coloured the rings, gold and silver. A thin strip of each metal weaves around the other, with a note scribbled next to the design. ‘Gold for Barry’s lightning, silver for my ice.’ I trace the rings with my finger, speechless.

Len clears his throat. I tear my eyes away from the drawing. Len smiles softly.

“What do you think the chains should be made of?”

“What chains?”

He looks at me strangely. “Barry, where do you want to wear your ring?”

“On my ring-finger. That’s where it belongs.”

“But… People will see it. They’ll know you’re married.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

I sigh. “I don’t want to hide this anymore, Len. I’m not about to go around announcing my engagement or anything like that, but I’m not going to actively hide the ring. I’m proud of being yours.”

“They’re going to disapprove.”

“So, what? We’re getting married, Len. It’s too late to change my mind, not that they’ve succeeded in the past.” I catch the worry flick over his expression. “Unless you’re not okay with that. I’ll wear the ring on a chain around my neck if-.”

Len cuts me off with a kiss. “I would love to wear matching rings on our fingers. I’m just worried how your friends and family are going to react when they learn that you’ve kept our relationship secret for so long. Mick and Lisa have at least known for a while, so I don’t have to worry about them getting payback, but the important people in your life didn’t even know you were dating someone.”

“They’ll figure it out once I’m wearing a ring.”

“You don’t want a ceremony then?”

“I don’t want a room full of people who are only there to say I object.”

Len nods. “I suppose I don’t want my perfect plans ruined by incompetent guests who can’t RSVP properly.”

“And…” I look back at the ring design. “I’d like Lisa and Mick to be our witnesses.

“You’re sure you don’t want to tell someone you trust first?”

“I trust them.”

“You know what I mean, Scarlet.”

I run a hand through my hair. “I’d like to tell Eddie, but… He’ll be obligated to tell Joe, who might just lock me in a meta-cell at Iron Heights, and Iris, who… I can’t face Iris with this yet. She needs to be the first person I tell, the first person who doesn’t just find out by accident, but she’ll have to tell Eddie, who again, has to tell Joe. If Eddie tried to keep a secret this major from his partner again, Joe would take all of this out on him, and he doesn’t deserve that.”

“What about Snow or Cisco?”

“Caitlin, use her name please, would either snap and kill us both, or be resigned to the fact. I don’t know about Cisco. He’d probably be the quickest to get over that it’s you, but the slowest to get over the massive secret keeping. Definitely no for Oliver and Felicity would just tell him.”

“Oliver?”

I look up at Len. “Yeah, one of my closest friends, kind of like a big brother. He lives in Star City. I worked with him on a case for his company when we met.”

Len stares at me blankly. “You’re best buds with Oliver Queen?”

“It’s a long story.”

“He’s the Arrow, isn’t he?”

I sigh. “Please don’t tell him that you know. I really hate getting shot.”

“Oh, someone’s going to get shot alright, but it won’t be with a bow and arrow.”

“If it wasn’t for Oliver, I wouldn’t even be the Flash. He even gave me the name.”

Len smirks. “Then I should thank him for letting us meet while icing him.”

I shake my head, my eyes catching the design again. I can’t help the smile that takes over.

“You like them then?”

I nod. “I love them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the proposal itself ages ago, so MaQ12’s comment on Chapter 8 - Just a Ringtone, which ended with “If he doesn't decide one soon I'm going to call them husbands”, was eerily close to the wording Barry chose.


	19. Just a Certificate

**LEN**

Barry’s a terrible thief. His first mistake was trying to enlist Lisa in his little heist. I’ll admit, if she wasn’t so loyal to me, that might’ve worked. She always forces her way onto jewellery jobs the second she hears word of one. His second mistake was trying to buy Mick’s silence with food. Again, any other circumstance and it might’ve worked, but a certain fiancé of mine should really stop tipping off my loyalists. His third mistake, and really the only one if you think about it, was trying to steal from me.

Barry slumps against the fridge and slides to the floor, his feet clad in icy shoes. “Was that really necessary, Len?”

I shrug and fiddle with the ice trap responsible. “You only have to wait one more day, Scarlet.”

“But you’ve had the rings for two weeks.”

“And you’ve tried to steal them every day. Really, Barry, I thought you were in the business of enforcing laws, not breaking them.”

Barry folds his arms. “Doesn’t count.”

“Pouting doesn’t make things legal.”

“I’m not trying to actually steal something. I just want to wear my ring.”

“We’re not married yet.”

“Only because you insisted on making sure our marriage certificate doesn’t appear on public record.”

I sigh and put the ice trap on the counter. “Barry-.”

“No, Len. It’s fine. Really. I get that you want to make sure I’m not targeted by people trying to get to you. Chances are, I’ll end up revealing my speed to someone, and that’ll just unlock a whole lot of bad consequences. But I can’t help feeling impatient. It’s been a month, Len, a month since I proposed. And I know that’s way shorter than the time people usually wait, but they actually have to plan a ceremony and all that. All we really needed were the rings, which you’ve had for two weeks. They’ve been sitting in the apartment, taunting me that we can’t wear them yet ‘cause they won’t mean anything until tomorrow.”

I slide to the floor and sit across from him. Barry avoids eye contact, even as I swat his mostly thawed foot with mine.

“You want to wear for it tonight, don’t you?”

“No.”

“Really? Want to try lying to me again? Maybe this time you’ll be more convincing.”

Barry finally looks at me. “I don’t know. I want to tell them, and wearing the ring would show how serious it is, but… But at the same time, I’m not sure how long it’ll take come Monday for anyone to even notice the ring.”

“And if it takes them too long, then you can push some of the blame onto them for not noticing?”

He scratches the back of his head. “Sort of. I guess it’d be nice to skip over all the yelling. Is that bad of me?”

When the hero ends up asking the villain for moral advice… Screw it. Since when have I left someone I love hanging?

“Considering only one person in your life has even come close to figuring out that you’re in a relationship, let alone engaged, no, I don’t think it’s bad of you. I’m sure if your friends were a little more observant and aware of how masterfully you deflect uncomfortable conversations, then they would’ve figured it out before you even did. They would’ve been right there alongside me, laughing at how oblivious you can be.”

Though I’m sure Caitlin has seen a fraction of it, from how exasperated she was when they found out we were friends. I’m surprised the doctor didn’t connect the final dots.

Barry half-heartedly kicks my foot. “Eddie could still figure it out tonight at dinner.”

“You could still tell him, tell all of them.”

He shrugs. “I mean, I’m sure they’ll all figure out something’s up come Monday. I don’t want to go to Saturday Night Family Dinner where they know about us and you’re not invited.”

“Like having backup?”

“Hate not having the man I’m marrying counted as family.”

I don’t fight the fond smile. “Well, you can always come out with Lisa, Mick, and me tonight instead.”

Barry stretches his legs out. “Nah. They’ll tease me over the rings.”

“They’ll be teasing you over that for years. Once things have cooled off with your friends, I’ll be sure to tell them about this past fortnight too. I’ll trade it for an embarrassing kid Barry story with Iris, or maybe an early Flash one with Cisco.”  
“Frozen,” Barry beams. “I can’t wait to tell them about Frozen.”

“You’re going to take every opportunity to humanise your favourite villain, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“Remind me again why I thought this was a good idea?”

Barry grins. “You can’t say no to me and-.”

“I’ve said no to you plenty of times, Scarlet.”

“And mean it. You can’t say no to me and mean it. How else do you think I got you to stop killing when _you_ were the one trying to blackmail _me_?”

I cross my arms. The Rogues have been on my back about that for years.

“You caught me off-guard.”

Barry laughs. “I caught the great Leonard Snart off-guard?”

“I didn’t realise how cute you’d be under the mask. Sure, I had some time to research, but I wasn’t really focussing on the photos and-.”

Barry cuts me off with a kiss. “Good thing Leonard Allen won’t be so easily startled.”

“I could always text Mick and Lisa to meet us at the courthouse tonight. We’d finally get to wear those rings.”

Barry pecks my nose and jumps to his feet. “Nah, think I’m going to head over to Joe’s instead. I’m sure you’ll be fine waiting one more day.”

I watch Barry’s lightning follow him getting ready. “You coming back afterwards?”

Barry stops in front of the door. “Yeah. It’s not like we’re having a wedding. No need to follow traditions. I’m not sleeping anywhere else tonight except next to you.”

“You realise you’ve never slept beside me, right? It’s always on top of me in some form. I don’t even know why you have a pillow.”

“For the nights you aren’t there.” It wouldn’t surprise me if he follows that with an ‘obviously’. Instead, Barry mutters a “wish me luck,” and disappears in a blur of lightning.

I really hope Rathaway doesn’t decide to track the Flash’s home down again; it’d be far too easy for him. Having that conversation with my Rogues is bound to end in broken noses. Not mine, but that’s not the point. When Joe West, of all people, accepts my and Scarlet’s marriage, I’ll consider telling the Rogues more about those rumours of the CSI friendly with their boss.

The front door opens without so much as a knock. I sigh, get up, and put the ice trap away. Mick doesn’t even acknowledge me, just walks straight to the fridge and grabs a beer. Lisa closes the door behind her and studies me, while I shut the closet housing both my Captain Cold gear and Barry’s spare suit. Nobody except the two of us can so much as open the closet. I can’t access Barry’s side and vice versa. That way if I have other Rogues over for whatever reason, they won’t learn Barry’s secret. And neither of us would be tempted to sabotage the other’s gear after a Cold/Flash fight.

It’s also where our rings our stored.

“Cutie try to steal them again?” Lisa asks, catching the beer Mick throws her.

“Ice trap works,” I answer. “I’ll have to adjust the power output to encase more than a speedster’s feet though.”

“Your fiancé ‘ppreciate being a lab rat?” Mick asks, throwing himself onto an armchair.

“He does work in two different labs,” I point out. “Plus, if Scarlet had a problem with it, he’d tell me. We worked past the hiding things from each other limits months ago.”

Lisa looks at me weirdly but says nothing. Instead, she sprawls across the lounge, turns the TV on, and flicks through the channels.

“I thought we were going out tonight,” I say, bringing my laptop over.

Mick shrugs. “We always go out.”

“That’s because neither of you like staying in.”

“Quit it, Lenny,” Lisa grumbles. “It’s your last night before you get hitched. Let us do something you want for once.”

“Consider it a wedding gift, Snart.”

This time I do fight the fond smile. “That won’t be my name come tomorrow.”

Mick scoffs. “Still going to call you Snart. Some piece of paper ain’t gonna change that.”

And that’s the closest Mick’s going to get to openly accepting this, apart from when he signs said piece of paper tomorrow.

I sit next to my sister. “Barry’s going to be several hours. How about we plan a special heist for Monday night? Can’t have him thinking I’ll go slack once I marry a superhero.”

Lisa groans. “I thought you’d choose something fun.”

“What isn’t fun about planning a throwback?” I ask, before talking them through my idea.

However Barry’s first day wearing that ring goes, I’ll keep Team Flash plenty distracted to give my Scarlet a break.

*

Mick and Lisa don’t give anything away for tomorrow night’s heist at lunch. I was sure the entire meal would go out without a hitch until Cisco Ramon walks into the Italian family-run restaurant and somehow immediately spots his best friend next to me. The engineer practically jumps before marching over to our booth and folding his arms.

“Hi, Barry. Fancy seeing you here, Barry. Can’t help noticing your company, Barry.”

The speedster thumps his head against the booth and abandons the pizza slice he was about to start on. “One day. Is it too much to ask for one day?”

“Apparently,” I drawl.

Lisa, the angel that she is, and technical maid of honour, smiles at her prey. “Hey, Cisco. It’s been a while.”

Cisco shakes his head. “No. Nope. I am not falling for that this time.” He turns to Barry. “Seriously, man? What are you doing?”

“Eating lunch with my friends.”

“Your friends?”

Barry shrugs and picks his pizza slice back up. “They’re kind of a package deal.”

“So you’re just friends with all the Rogues now?”

Mick laughs. “Red’s only friends with the best of the lot.”

Cisco doesn’t seem to have a response for that.

I lean close to Barry. “You could tell him now,” I whisper. “Not too late to swap Mick out of a witness.”

Because Lisa would kill both of us if I suggested her.

I steal one of Barry’s slices to mask my motion. Barry frowns at that.

“Did you want to join us?” he asks his friend.

Cisco takes one look around our booth and shakes his head. “I don’t think I’m quite at the Barry Allen level of forgiveness. I’m just going to grab my order and go back to forgetting our city’s hero has lunch with three of its villains.”

I discreetly grab Barry’s hand and squeeze it.

He smiles. “See you tomorrow then.”

Cisco mumbles a yeah and all but runs away.

“You were testing him, weren’t you?” I ask.

Barry shrugs. “If he wasn’t okay with eating with my fiancé, he won’t be okay with witnessing our marriage.”

“But imagine his reaction,” Mick says, grinning. “When he realises what you did today.”

Barry’s smile brightens a little. “Yeah, that’ll be pretty funny.”

I slip the rings case out of my pocket. “Finish lunch, and we’ll head over.” I release Barry’s hand. “No powers though,” I whisper.

Lisa rolls her eyes. “You realise Cisco wasn’t exactly careful with his words, right?”

“Hearing someone imply something is completely different from showing it,” I point out.

“Saying I’m in a serious relationship with a world-class thief is completely different from showing the ring,” Barry says, around the last of his pizza.

“Guess we better head to the courthouse then,” I say.

“Finally,” Mick grumbles. “The line’s going to be long enough without three of us being stopped all the time by badges and lawyers.”

Lisa smiles. “I’m sure our own badge will keep them away.”

Barry shakes his head, sliding out of the booth. “That’s as much as any of you are going to be able to use my job.”

Don’t I know it. I still don’t have anything on exactly what type of crimes that new meta focused CSI will be covering and how much of it extends to my Rogues. Barry’s so tight-lipped about him that I’m pretty sure the speedster has forgotten again. I only managed to get him to clean his lab on Friday, right as he tried to leave. I was even kind enough to offer my assistance. Barry rolled his eyes and locked me out though, something West found hilarious. Apparently, the man didn’t realise I was joking, or I doubt he would’ve laughed.

*

Mick is rarely right. This time, he is both right and wrong. The line is long, but nobody stops us. The line is so long that I have to give Barry a Cisco-concocted energy bar half-way through because lunch has worn off with his constant fidgeting. I have three of those bars on me at all times. Being married to a speedster with a ridiculous metabolism will drum that into you. Oh, and that.

My name is Leonard Allen and I am the coolest thief alive.

Too much? Barry told me about his ridiculous greeting to the Arrow, or Oliver, whatever the maniac goes by. I laugh, and laugh, and choke, and laugh some more. I keep forgetting how excited Barry is to be a superhero. And then, right as we walk out of the courthouse, marriage certificate in hand, and rings finally on, he found a way to remind me. Barry has to catch me when I trip down the stairs laughing.

He looks at me with his own blinding grin and kisses me right there, where literally anyone could see. “Hey, husband,” he says.

“Hey, Scarlet.”

Barry smacks me. “You’re meant to say it back.”

Mick and Lisa laugh as they leave to find their bikes. I just shake my head.

“I’m proving I can say no to you.”

He links our ringed hands and pouts. I pointedly look away. Barry tilts my head to face him.

“Please, Len.”

I sigh. “I thought superhusbands weren’t meant to abuse their powers.”

Barry just grins at me. “Didn’t need to change the timeline to get what I wanted.”

“As far as your ridiculously terrible ideas go, I suppose this wasn’t your worst.”

“Just got to convince everyone else of that.”

I let go of his hand and wrap an arm around his waist. “We’ll be fine.”

Barry rests his head on my shoulder. “How do you know?”

“You survived being struck by lightning. I somehow managed to end up married to the purest soul I know. I’d say we’re both pretty damn lucky.”

This wasn’t part of the plan when I came to Central, but I’m glad I tossed that rubbish away the second I met Barry Allen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S THE FINAL CHAPTER! Doo do doo doo. Doo do doo doo doo. (and so on). Not to worry though, because this is only the first part out of two. The second part of 'Ignoring the Hero Handbook' will be up within a few days (first three chapters are already written). It's called 'Inevitable' and will be from Barry's POV. Pretty much, 'cause literally nobody else has found out yet, everyone finds out, one by one (or maybe more at once, but definitely not all at once). While 'Exceptions' stuck mainly to Barry/Len's developing relationship, 'Inevitable' will look at the consequences for keeping it secret so long.
> 
> So, who do you think will find out next? Who will take it the worst/best? How many chapters will the next part even be? (Even I don't know). Also, 'cause I've been teasing him for ages, how's Julian going to fit into all of this? (No Savitar, because Len can defend himself just fine against speedsters thank you very much, so the paradox would never exist in the first place (not Iris bashing; Len literally has an arsenal against speedsters after Zoom))
> 
> Oh, and someone has definitely guessed who's next to find out. Problem is, you guys have guessed almost every character, so have fun narrowing that down.


End file.
